Renegade Pokémon
by Eddynessofdoom
Summary: No, it's not a Giratina story. It's a darkfic about mewclones, pokémorphs and immortals. Based off an old RP, rated for gory violence, language and general darkness. Mostly Kanto-Johto. Please read and comment, even if you hated it.
1. Prologue

Note: This story is based off an RP I had years ago on Neopets. I've made some major changes in my characters (*CoughDESTUINGcough*) but have tried to leave other characters untouched and stay true to the way they were, or at least how I remember them. Izzy, Gatomon343, Lizerd, Hijackers, BOB, that one guy who role played Giovanni all the time, and everyone else I can't recall the names of… I really hope I do your characters justice.

Also Note: For background on events, I suggest watching Mewtwo Strikes Back, Mewtwo Returns, and The Birth of Mewtwo... or you can just be a really big Mewtwo fan already, 'cuz then you'll like this fic for sure.

3rd Note: I'd like to applaud those who have review my story and pointed out that I misspelled (and misnamed) my prologue. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Technically, this isn't a prologue, but I'm calling it that. If you'd prefer to call it the post-logue intro, that's fine.

And now Ed needs to shut up and start the story already.

* * *

May 19th, 2015

* * *

"But… you can't be him."

"Yet somehow I am."

"But… no!"

A blast of light, and Nathan was thrown backward, into the wall headfirst. He sank to the floor, blood falling from his gashed forehead to the side of his chin, over the scar on his left cheek. He cringed, then glared up at his enemy.

"Why?" The boy asked, struggling back to his feet. "I thought you were good, after everything you did, and the things you said, and… I don't understand."

The man smirked, looming over the boy, running a hand through his dark hair, red staining the tips of his fingers. "That's just it, my boy. Try all you like, but you will never understand. You are too much like your mother. She never believed in evil; there was no evil in pokémon, not in humans, not in anyone. As long as you stubbornly hold onto that same belief, you will never accept the truth."

"You're wrong!"

It felt strange to say it, seeing how Nathan didn't know if either of them was right. Maybe, as the man had said, he was being stubborn. Even so, he let his thoughts on the matter spill out of his mouth frantically, thoughts that had been confirmed from a long journey, a journey he'd only started.

That was when the ceiling exploded. Nathan fell back into the wall again, to avoid the falling chunks of rubble, hands over his face. A white dust rose, sticking to his lungs as he inhaled, making him cough. The dust cleared, and a sight struck the boy with such fear that he cringed with his spine.

The mewclone stood in the center of the room, covered in white dust, red blood, and spikes that tore new wounds in his body. His red eyes went to his master, then to Nathan.

"Blade," Nathan croaked.

"Kill him," the man demanded.

The clone grunted, eyes still on Nathan, narrowing. His tail flailed up, then whipped down on his target.


	2. Chapter 1

August 28, 1999

* * *

He spun the pencil in his hand. It was considered a skill, pencil-spinning. That showed how bored the scientists were, who competed in pencil-spinning contests. That, of course, was only when they were really bored, like right now.

"A year ago," a voice drawled in the air, "We discovered an eyelash of the legendary pokémon, mew. There was sufficient DNA from this eyelash for creating a clone of mew, and more than enough funding from Giovanni. And so we began our research, our struggles…"

He tried to ignore the voice. He stopped spinning his pencil and instead held it tightly, waiting for the man to finish.

"Many attempts to clone this legendary failed, but-"

SNAP! he tossed the broken pencil aside and rose from his seat.

"They were not just attempts," he said.

"Mark, not now," his friend pleaded, rising from her seat.

But he had already gotten the man's attention; the lead scientist stopped his recording, and turned to look at Mark, the neon lights glaring off his glasses, which stood on a long, thin nose.

"They were unsuccessful," the man said slowly.

"They were still alive," Mark shot back. "You can't just push them aside and say 'oh, they were just failures, no big deal'. We did create them, sir- we just didn't succeed in developing them. I want that made clear."

The man stared at him. Mark couldn't see his eyes beyond the light's glare, but assumed the man was glaring as well. A snarling lower lip confirmed this. Instead of continuing their argument, the man looked back at the computer screen and pressed the record button.

"...Many attempts failed, but we now have two subjects left...."

Mark sat down gruffly. "Bastard," he muttered.

"Don't be like that, Mark," she whispered back. "Give him a break. He lost his daughter, after all... twice."

"He lost a clone of her," he hissed, "not his real daughter. You know that as well as I do."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well... he doesn't know the difference. So lay off him, alright?"

Mark leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "Debbie, the day I let a man treat the dead like a statistic is the day I let you scold me while having PMS. Like right now."

Debbie smirked at him. "You're an ass, you know that?"

"One of the best," he agreed.

The computer clacked as the man stopped yet again. "Will the two of you stop bickering? I'm trying to record our progress."

The two just smirked at each other, and then Mark waved at the man. "Go ahead, Dr. Fuji."

Mark Douglass was the youngest of the team working on the mewclones. In fact, while many at this stage of their profession were having a middle-age crisis, he was playing video games in his spare time, like any twenty-one year old. But now his games had grown in caliber; the scientists had signed a contract with Giovanni in order to fund their project- creating a clone of mew. To fit the needs of the syndicate leader of Team Rocket, this clone was being mutated to be more powerful- the strongest pokémon in the world, some would say. Team Rocket would be the ones using their invention. Mark wasn't comfortable with this, but now that he was under contract, he couldn't back out without facing harsh consequences.

Creating life wasn't easy, and Mark had only joined them halfway amidst their 'attempts', but as of now they hadn't been closer. Out of a batch of eleven embryos- some not related to mew, one related to Dr. Fuji- two clones had survived to this point. This was considered a great success, for their last attempts had died in much earlier stages. Hopefully there wouldn't be any more roadblocks in preserving these lives, and at least one of the clones would live to adult age, which would only take a few more months, at most a year... if neither lived, they would have to start from scratch, and Giovanni was an impatient man.

Mark had only been working with this team of scientists for half a year, (well, less than half,) but felt that he'd influenced this project more than Dr. Fuji realized. In fact, if it hadn't been for him, there would only be one clone left, not two.

Fuji had finished his oral report, and had given them permission to move to their stations. Mark ignored this order and strode to one of few windows, staring out at the view.

Civilization stood at the horizon, separated from Mark by the outstretched sea. The team was working in isolation, on an island barely big enough to hold their building. He had expected an overachieving prodigy like himself to be working on a decent vacationing island in Fiji, not some bleak blot dully-named "New Island".

But then, nothing went right in Mark's life. Maybe it didn't need to. Then again, maybe Debbie was right, and he just needed a girlfriend.

Mark saw his reflection in the window, and couldn't see a girl stand beside him. His dark black hair (as if black wasn't dark enough) and black eyes, dark circles beneath them, worry lines beyond his true age… If he had something cute or attractive about him, like freckles or muscles, anything besides his skinny framed body and glasses… no, he was just too much of a jackass nerd. The only guy he'd known to actually find someone with this two word description was Dr. Fuji- and his marriage had ended badly, after his daughter's fiasco.

Dr. Fuji walked up beside him on cue, arms crossed. "Aren't you supposed to be doing something?"

Mark shrugged, keeping his eyes on the ocean view. "Yeah, I'm supposed to be in a hammock drinking vodka."

"You've got some high expectations, then," the man replied.

"I learn from the best," Mark said coolly.

"Will you get to work?"

"Only if you say the magic word."

Dr. Fuji raised an eyebrow.

Mark raised his own. "Don't remember? It starts with a P, has two syllables when you beg..."

"Paycheck," Fuji warned.

"Right, I'm on it," Mark said, turning and walking off.


	3. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Anything within (( )) is someone speaking with psychic abilities.

* * *

October 2nd, 1999

* * *

"Hey, guys.... hey, it's awake!"

_He's awake_, Mark thought to himself, scrambling to Debbie's side.

The creature floating in the fluids of the tank was still curled up, as he had been since his creation. He was built much like a human, but with characteristics of the cat-like legendary mew and many obvious mutations- his bumpy fingers and tube-like chord connecting the back of his head to his spine. Storm cloud gray fur covered his skeletally skinny body, and his long purple tail turned out to be the same color as his eyes, eyes that stared back at the scientists with an intensity and darkness beyond his years. Just as everyone had gathered to look, the cateyes drifted shut.

Debbie and Mark applauded with their team, Mark receiving a pat on the back from her. "We did good, kid," she said. "This one might make it after all."

Mark nodded anxiously. "Yeah, you're right... we did good...."

As the scientists went back to work, a thought came to Mark; in just another month, these creatures could be out of their glass cylinder tanks and in the world. But what would happen then? Where would these clones go from here? Would Giovanni take over, or would they stay in the lab and be experimented on? What kind of life would they be living?

Better yet, would they embrace this way of life? These clones were the strongest pokémon in the world, supposedly… could Team Rocket control such power?

Mark pressed his hand against the glass. "I remember when you were just a little guy," he said. "It's too bad that you actually grew up... life sucks, you know. It's really going to suck for you."

Mark suddenly realized he was talking to an unconscious pokémon. He looked around him, but no one had noticed, too busy monitoring the clone's health and predicting what would cause a casualty.

Mark gave the tank one final tap. "I guess living is better than dying, though," he said, turning and walking towards his station.

((Life is wonderful...))

Mark froze at the echoing voice.

((...but, why?))

He turned around, but the pokémon hadn't stirred. No one was talking to him. He glanced away, shaking his head, thinking his job was just getting to him. In the end, his only entertainment came from spinning pencils and mocking Dr. Fuji.

He looked at the tank across the room, and quietly approached it. "You gunna wake up any time soon?" he asked.

This clone was similar in shape to the first, but much larger. Instead of white fur and a purple tail, this one had thick, black fur, and a long, red tail that was twice the size of his body. He had been mutated specifically to have more physical powers than other clones. In comparison, the white one was more frail and skinny, though he still managed a height of at least six foot five. This one had a muscular build, and Dr. Fuji claimed he might stand at seven feet tall, his tail reaching a whopping fourteen feet. The huge beast even needed a bigger tank. While this pokémon had more potential, especially considering Giovanni's goals, it had taken much more effort to keep alive. It was still hard to say who would be more powerful, who would survive. Most scientists still denied that both would live to see the world outside their tanks.

Mark stared at the beast, scanning his enormous tail. Debbie had mentioned his tail having a special purpose... but he still had no idea what that was, for no one had been willing to tell him. He was still fairly new, after all, and new members had a trait of taking off with gathered information. Mark knew better than to get himself killed, though most doubted him simply because of his youth.

Suddenly, the pokémon's eyes snapped open, unlike the dazed way of the first clone. The red eyes were wide, and bore into Mark's. Mark opened his mouth, but found no words, only a startled and loud cry, only thinking of the creature's blood red eyes.

The team rushed to his side. "Mark!" Debbie cried, "What's wrong?"

Mark glanced at her, and then back at the mewclone, who had already shut his eyes again.

"I.... he was... I don't know..."

Chang! _Crash!_

Everyone looked up, then down. A small metal sphere on the black clone's tank seemed to have jumped off and fallen to the ground, smashed and smoldering.

The red tail suddenly twitched, the pokémon curling up tighter. A monitor across the room started flashing, letting out a warning sound. Debbie raced to the station, growing frantic as she read its report.

"The clone is trying to contact the other one with it's powers!" she hollered. "It's already destroyed our first psychic barrier!"

"What? That cannot be!" Dr. Fuji replied, running to the opposite station with Mark at his side.

"Not again," Mark said, grabbing a console beside Dr. Fuji's and reading it's reports. "What do we do?"

"We'll have to suppress it's powers," Dr. Fuji said.

"How? Our barriers obviously aren't going to work- you saw it jump across the room! He's gotten stronger."

"Give it a sedative!" Dr. Fuji shouted to Debbie, "Stop it before it makes contact."

"No, don't!" Mark shouted over him, "if we cut him off while he's using his powers at this stage, his brain could shut down."

"That's a risk we'll have to take," Dr. Fuji said quickly.

"No, it's not," Mark shot back.

Another crash as a sphere fell from the ceiling, another warning bellowing from Debbie's station. "It's broken the second barrier!"

Dr. Fuji growled. "Any suggestions?"

Mark looked from one clone to the other. The white mewclone had suffered from psychic connections in the past, which was why the barriers were up in the first place. But they couldn't stop the black one directly without a risk...

"We don't have the energy to create new barriers, but... maybe we could combine the energy of two to make a stronger one."

Dr. Fuji nodded. "How many do we have left, Dr. Densmore?"

"Four," she said. Another warning, another crash. "...Make that three, sir."

"Combine the last two," Fuji said to the room, "But if he breaks through our new barrier, I want a sedative ready to be given immediately."

"Yes sir," the room agreed.

Mark worked furiously, running from one end of the room to the next, helping everyone at every station to cross the last two barriers together. He stopped Doctor Peck from typing in the wrong code, then rushed to Debbie Densmore's station to decide on the amount of sedative, then flung himself to Professor Newman who needed advice on rewiring the barrier devices, then back to Dr. Peck to relay another code, and then ran to Dr. Fuji, gasping for breath, and asked what else he could do, and Dr. Fuji just sneered and called him a showoff.

_Crash!_ A sphere fell down between the two clones. The last two barriers were near the opposite pokémon's tank, proper wires connected and codes running.

"We got it, Dr. Douglas!" Professor Newman yelled, stepping away from the connected spheres. "The last two have combined."

"The second they break, Dr. Densmore," Fuji reminded.

"I know, sir," she replied.

Everyone held their breath. Mark looked up at the two remaining spheres, then at the white clone. He didn't even seem to have noticed the other clone, and was still sleeping peacefully.

_This feels weird… I hate separating them, when their psychic links are as natural as talking. But after what happened last time, when the clone of Amber died…_

After a minute, the warning blears stopped, and the dark pokémon eased out of his tense stance.

"Fuji, it's stopped," she said with relief.

Mark rested his head against the dark one's tank and shut his eyes, sighing. Everyone let out exhausted sighs, some applauding their good work.

"Someone start repairing the other barriers," Dr. Fuji said. "I want them to be running and combined as soon as possible. Good work, everyone. You too, Dr. Douglas," the man said to Mark.

Mark shrugged. "Don't thank me, thank my brain."

Dr. Fuji said something that surprised Mark. "If there's anything I know from watching you, Dr. Douglas, it's that your brain isn't what makes you a genius. It's your passion for saving lives."

"Maybe I should be a real doctor, then," Mark muttered.

Dr. Fuji chuckled, and then walked off towards the window to revel in the ocean view.


	4. Chapter 3

November 12, 1999

* * *

"ACHOO!"

"Mark, you sneezed again."

"I dib naut. ACHOO!"

"Mark..." Debbie sighed exasperatedly.

Mark pulled a tissue out of his pocket and blew his boogery nose. Feeling better, he walked back over to his station, yet the shinning screens and buttons only hurt his eyes. "Okay," he said quietly, "I can do this, I can do this...."

"Mark, you've got a fever going now," Debbie began once again. "I know you're excited because the clones could 'wake up' soon... but this is getting ridiculous. You can't even work properly anymore."

"I can so," he replied childishly. "It's just a cold."

"Mark, you need to rest."

"But the chances of them leaving their tanks today are even greater than yesterday," he whined. "I wanna see them wake up, damnit!"

"Mark, come on. If I was sick, would you let me stay?"

"Just let me stick around a little while longer. I might recover on my own, after all."

"Right... fine, go ahead, just don't die." She waved him off as she strode briskly to her station.

Mark stared at the monitors, and realized he had no idea what he was monitoring. He sighed, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes, leaning against the console. He started to sing quietly to himself, in hopes that a song would break his fever.

_"Don't know why there's no sun up in the sky,_

_Stormy Weather._

_Since my gal and I ain't together,_

_Keeps rainin' all the time._

_Life is bare, gloom and mis'ry everywhere,_

_Stormy Weather._

_Just can't get my poor old self together,_

_I'm weary all the time, so weary all the tiaaaaa_AACHO!"

He sniffled, rubbing the side of his nose with his knuckles when Dr. Fuji walked up behind him.

"Mark, your ferry has arrived."

Mark looked at him. "What ferry?"

"The ferry that will take you to a base in Viridian City," he said. "You'll be staying there to recover."

Mark smirked meekly. "Come on, Doctor. I'm not that bad, am I?"

"You have four sick days left," Dr. Fuji went on, "and after that I expect you back here. That understood?"

"Sure, but I don't have to leave right-"

"Goodbye, Dr. Douglas."

With this, Dr. Fuji turned on his heel and walked off.

"Great," Mark said darkly. He waved at the other scientists as he walked out of the room. "Bye, all."

"Bye, Mark," Debbie called, waving back.

* * *

Debbie took a glance out the window. She could see the ferry departing, heading towards land.

_He wouldn't have had to leave if he wasn't so insistent on working,_ she thought to herself. _Now he'll probably miss the clones... after all the work he's put into balancing both of their lives._

She looked over at the dark clone's tank. It knew of the lighter one's existence, but the light one thought it was alone. She was sad that they had to keep them separated with the barriers; a psychic link between them was still risky at this point. She thought of the dark clone's desperation to contact the other, it's loneliness…

"Don't worry, big guy," she said to the clone, "You'll be seeing your brother pretty soon."

She then glanced at her monitor. She found something very unusual. She motioned to Dr. Fuji, who moved to her side.

"Doctor, look at this."

"What?"

"It's brainwaves... they're _surging_..."

* * *

_Who am I? What am I? Where am I?_

_I am ready to be…_

…_Are you?_

The world outside his glass walls came in view. He could see the strangers, walking around, some running, some gathered near the white and purple figure, but only to glimpse before dashing away.

_Who are you,_ he wondered,_ what are you?_

_Why won't you answer?_

He saw the reflection of his face in the glass; glowing red eyes amidst a world of black.

_Is this how you see me? Can you see me? Can you hear me?_

A name came to him. _You'll be seeing your brother pretty soon._

_Brother... somehow, I know what that name means..._

_I know you are... my brother... but… why? Why won't you hear me?_

His fingers grazed the glass, which felt cold. No one was watching either of them, they were too busy running and shouting now.

_Brother..._

His brother opened his eyes, and spoke in a hissing, echoing whisper.

((Those voices... they're outside... where I must be...))

_Brother,_ he struggled to be heard,_ Brother..._

A blue glow came to his brother's eyes. The walls of his tank started to crack.

_Brother,_ he tried a final time, ((_Brother!))_

The tank broke with a crash. His brother sat, head bowed, tail curled, moisture dripping off his fur, as everyone watched him.

"Someone radio Giovanni's helicopter!" A voice shouted. "Tell them what's happened!"

"Quiet!" Snapped another. He stood before the clone's brother with glaring spectacles. "Let us hear it's psychic powers."

((Psychic... powers?)) The released clone asked.

Still drifting in his tank, the dark clone watched his brother contact the humans for the first time.

* * *

"You're not sea sick, are ya matey?"

Mark wiped the sticky puke off the corner of his mouth and sat back down. "No, I'm just regular sick."

The gray-bearded ferry captain shrugged off Mark's response, and looked back to their destination. His brows furrowed. "Oy, what's that off yonder?"

Mark squinted at the horizon. A sinister speck hovered in the air, growing bigger and noisier as it drew closer.

"It's headed for the island!" Said the captain, who Mark immediately deemed 'Captain Obvious'.

"It's one of Giovanni's helicopters," Mark said, with a sinking feeling in his gut. Giovanni would only be going to the island for one reason.

_I've missed it, probably by five minutes. How much worse can this get?_

BOOM!

The ferry shook from the shockwave of the explosion. Mark spun around, staring wide-eyed off the edge of the ship at New Island.

The lab was already in ruins, nothing left but a rising flame and smoke.

"_No!_" Mark screamed, feeling more ill. "Debbie! Doctor Fuji!" He faced the captain. "Turn around, now!"

The captain saluted briefly before spinning the wheel. "Aye aye, matey."

* * *

He opened his eyes, felt the dirt ground, the heat of the flames. Finally, he was free, but also hurt. His head spun, body ached to move, barely could.

The picture of little Mew was lying far away from him. The picture the human had pointed to. The one the human said they'd both been made clones of. That glaring, smug human had called his brother Mewtwo. And the human had said their purpose…

And then his brother had destroyed the building. As he should have; the humans wanted nothing more than to use them. The humans didn't truly care about them.

But his brother, Mewtwo, still hadn't seen him. Mewtwo didn't know he existed.

_Brother... this hurts... where are you now?_

He saw Mewtwo walk up to the picture of Mew, and then loom over it. His brother stared at the picture curiously, numbly.

((Behold my powers,)) he said proudly, but to no one. ((I am the strongest pokémon in the world. Stronger even than Mew…))

There was nothing separating them anymore. So the clone called out to Mewtwo.

_((Brother...))_

Mewtwo's head rose up. He turned, glancing behind him.

He faced a new human, striding bravely through the flames. "Those fools thought you were a science experiment," said this human. "But I, I see you as a valuable partner."

((Partner?)) His brother replied.

The clone struggled to move again. _Don't listen to him, brother. He's one of the humans, we can't trust them... brother, please hear me..._

But he became more drained with each second, his vision fading, his arms shaking. _My body won't move… I am the new barrier…_

"With your psychic powers and my resources, together we can control the world."

((I do not need your help for that, human.))

"A wildfire destroys everything in its path. It will be then same with your powers unless you learn to control them. I can help you do that."

((How?))

_Don't listen, brother. He simply wants to control_ you. _So what if we destroy what is in our way? Listen to_ me-_ hear my voice!_

"Trust me," the human said intensely, "and I will show you a way to focus your powers that will make you invincible."

Mewtwo stared intensely back. ((Show me.))

_Brother, hear me! _He cried one last time, before succumbing to darkness.


	5. Chapter 4

November 12, 1999

* * *

Mark reached the shore just as the helicopter took off from the island. He jumped onto the foot-long beach and ran for the lab.

"Wait up, boy!" Captain Obvious shouted, "You can't just run into the fire like that!"

"Watch me!" he called over his shoulder, darting off.

Mark didn't run through fire, he ran through a maze. He ducked under burning archways, squeezed between walls of flames, trying not to get burned as he searched for a survivor.

"Professor Newman!" he wailed, wiping sweat off his brow. "Doctor Fuji! Doctor Densmore! Doctor Peck! Doctor anyone! Please, someone, anyone!"

The heat of the flames and his own head was more suffocating than the smoke. He fell to his hands and knees, gasping for breath. He looked to his side, at the flames.

Within the flames, he found who he was searching for.

"Debbie..." he held his breath, holding back the urge to throw up. "Oh god, no..."

He looked about him, and found the charred remains of the lab and scientists everywhere. Soon he couldn't look at them anymore and faced the ground. Tears dripped down to the back of his hand.

"I should have known this would happen... they were too powerful... they were too..." He pressed his forehead against the scorched floor. "I should have stopped this..."

A muffled cough broke through the roaring flame in Mark's ears. He looked up, to see a burning machine that had crashed on top of someone. This someone's legs were all that was visible.

This someone's legs were moving.

"Holy crap!" Mark shouted, flustered, rising to his feet and rushing over. He grasped the edges of the machine that weren't current on fire, to find them searing hot. He tore off part of his lab coat sleeve, gripping the machine's edge with the cloth between his fingers. The cloth didn't help enough, but he still managed to push the machine off with the help of a roaring scream.

Dr. Fuji lay on the ground, his body heavily crushed, his glasses a mess over his nose. Small cuts on his face bled freely. The man's eyes opened, but not widely.

"Douglas..." he coughed.

"Don't talk," Mark insisted, sitting down beside him, gritting his teeth through the resounding pain of his burnt hands. "I'm getting you out of this, Dr. Fuji," he said, "just hold on..."

Dr. Fuji coughed again, but then fell into a fit of dark chuckles. "Really, Dr. Douglas," he gasped, "would you keep me, from seeing my daughter?"

Mark was struck by this question. He let go of Dr. Fuji, leaning back. "But... I..." He avoided staring at the man's wounds, new tears blurring his sight. "Dr. Fuji..."

"It's alright," he said, coughing again, "This is my punishment... I knew what I was doing, that it was wrong. What I underestimated was the clone's intelligence, it's power... and you," he added. "If you had been there..."

Mark shut his eyes, tears falling down his cheeks. "Don't say it."

"The clone.... Mewtwo needs you, Mark," Dr. Fuji gasped. "You could still save it, from itself. Mark, listen to me."

Mark negligently looked back at Dr. Fuji. He didn't want to hear this man's last words, he didn't want to see him die.

"There is no such thing," Fuji said, "as an evil pokémon. Not even Mewtwo is evil. But if it is..." he coughed. "If it is controlled by an evil person, like Giovanni, then it could become twisted, and destructive to the entire world. This clone, and all other creatures that Team Rocket may create..."

Dr. Fuji's shaking hand grasped at Mark's coat. "These clones need you, Mark. They need someone as passionate as you to care about them. Just... as I needed my Amber..." he coughed once more, and then leaned back into the floor, hand dropping down.

"Dr. Fuji..."

"Don't let me rot here," Fuji rasped, "As one last request... let me burn away with this lab... with my achievements..."

Doctor Fuji shut his eyes. Mark shut his own, listening to the man's last words in disbelief.

"We dreamed of creating the world's strongest pokémon... and we succeeded."

* * *

He was awake again. His vision was clear now, and he was staring at the picture of Mew. The sky was dark, as was everything else- like the light of the world had disappeared.

He rose to his feet, looking from the ruins of the still smoldering lab to the dark waves of the ocean. He looked up at the sky, speckled with glimmering diamond shards.

_So,_ the clone thought to himself, _this is the world._

_How will I find my brother now?_ he wondered. _Where shall I go? What shall I do? What is my purpose here? So many questions to answer. __Maybe that's why brother went with the humans, because with them he might have a purpose. Without a purpose, what does one do? _

He gently lifted off the ground, before soaring away, away from the island. He flew into the starred night sky, unnoticed by the thousands below him.

He drifted over new land for a time, searching for something, though he wasn't sure what he was looking for. Perhaps he wanted to find something familiar, something interesting. Maybe just for a new place to rest.

He landed in a forest. He could hear and sense many of the pokémon living within the trees, the lake further off...

He recalled the human who had taken his brother, who said he would help his brother. Looking down at his hands, he scanned the three black fingers with large rounded ends, barely visible under the moonlight. He clenched his fingers together.

_If he will learn to control his powers, then I will have to learn as well. You will know me once you finally see me, Mewtwo..._

"Pidgey!"

He looked up and saw the bird type pokémon hopping up and down on the ground, glaring at him.

[What are you doing?] She said in the syllables of her own name, [What the heck are you? You big freak! Get out of our forest!]

How dare this thing say that to him? This Pidgey? This interruption, her words, they had hurt. But not for long. As the humans had said, he was more powerful than her. He would show her.

He raised his hand, a blood red glow surrounding it, and then surrounding the pidgey. The pidgey squirmed and wailed as she was lifted into the air, and then screeched as she felt undeniable pain.

He smirked. ((That's right,)) he said, ((_I_ am in control now.))

He felt her life at his fingertips, and chose to take it. The pokémon's body hit the ground with a quiet thud, and no longer bothered the world.

_You will know me when you see me, Mewtwo. You will see your brother, in control of his destiny… and with his own purpose. _


	6. Chapter 5

May 30th, 2001

* * *

"Nathan, hurry up!"

"Nora, I'm driving at the speed limit."

"Well, drive faster!"

The dark green jeep ramped over a rock. Nathan held the wheel steady, and dared to press down on the gas pedal.

The light of the sunny day in Viridian Forest bounced off Nathan's sunglasses. His brown eyes struggled to stay on the road, but he couldn't focus with his sister fidgeting in the seat beside him.

"Nora, is your seat belt on?"

"Kinda," she replied.

"Kinda isn't working for me, Hun. Get your seat belt all the way on."

Nora just giggled. He caught a view of her in his cracked rearview mirror. Her long red hair flew out behind her with the wind, her bright blue eyes smiling back at him. Her pink shirt and dark blue jeans contrasted with her own natural colors in an odd way.

_People still say she looks like a Joy_, he thought to himself. _I wouldn't be surprised if our mom was a Joy... but we're not Joys. We're Penkins... I think. That's what Dad used to say, anyway._

"Hey, ADD, watch the road," Nora prodded.

Nathan looked away. "You get your seatbelt on, missy."

"I already did," she said with a sigh. "Are we there yet?"

"Does it look like we are?"

"...Not really. How close are we?"

"Not very."

"Aw, come on! We were supposed to be in Pallet hours ago! Professor Oak isn't going to have any pokémon left by the time we get there..."

"Don't be so sure," Nathan said. "We might get there just in time for you to take the last pokémon off his hands..."

"But I don't want to just _get_ a pokémon, Nathan, I want to choose one."

"Sometimes they gotta choose you, Hun."

"Don't you sound like a sage?" she said poutily, leaning back in her seat, head flopping over the low headrest. "This wouldn't have happened if you had brought me here years ago like you were supposed to."

"What, I was supposed to let you travel through Kanto on your own when you were, like, eight years old?"

"Ten years, Nathan, I was ten years old."

"Not much of a difference. Besides, you're at my limit as it is."

Nora sat back up, as if doing so would help her argument. "But now everyone I know is five years ahead of me!"

"Sure, but you have a better education than they do."

"Nu-uh, they still went to school. Christi even did home-schooling on her journey."

"And their grades were straight C's. You got A's and B's."

"I would have gotten those anyway, I'm telling you."

"Not if you were busy training pokémon all day."

_"Look out!"_

Nathan pressed the break before he'd even looked back at the road, but it was too late. The jeep bounced as they ran over whatever it was he'd hit. He looked in the mirror, and saw a cracked squirtle shell lying upside-down in the road, spinning from the momentum.

"Aww crap," he groaned.

_"ROAD KILLER!"_ Nora yelled, jumping out of the jeep and running to the squirtle. Nathan followed her apprehensively, hoping the pokémon wasn't too dead.

"There's no way I'm forgiving you if it's dead," Nora said over her shoulder, sitting down beside the squirtle shell, which had spun to a stop. "Aww no, the shell is all cracked... that can't be good." She started to reach a hand out towards the pokémon.

Nathan smacked her hand away. "Don't, you don't know where this thing's been."

Nora glared up at him. "Well, it's not like it'll be rabid."

"It is wild," Nathan insisted, sitting down beside her and staring at the shell. "Then again, wild squirtle don't exactly live in forests, so it's weird that we found one here..."

Nora gasped, covering her mouth with one hand. "Ohmygoshnoway! You totally just killed someone else's pokémon!"

"Hey, that's not necessarily-"

"It must have been so scared," she went on sadly, "far, far away from his trainer, struggling to find her, fearing he'd never see her again... then our jeep approached and he tried to ask for help, but instead he was run over by a reckless ADD mad driver."

"Isn't that a little overdramatic?"

Tears welled up in Nora's eyes. "This poor creature had hopes and dreams, of becoming the greatest pokémon the world, at the side of his trainer." She threw her head back and wailed. "I hope his trainer sues you!"

"Hey, he's moving."

Nora abruptly stopped crying. The shell wiggled back and forth for a moment, then the squirtle's arms, legs, tail and head popped out of the shell. The light blue creature appeared a bit dizzy, but in decent shape all the same.

Nora squealed with delight. "He's alive! Halleluiah, praised be the lord!"

"Since when were you religious?" Nathan asked, but let out a sigh of relief.

The pokémon stared about woozily, then looked over at the jeep. It glared angrily at the jeep, running towards it. "Squirtle!" It shouted as it ran, "Squirtle squirt!"

"It's so cute!" Nora said happily. "Do you think it's a boy or a girl?"

"You seemed to know a minute ago," Nathan muttered to himself. "I think it's a boy. He looks pretty mad."

"But cute," Nora went on happily, "and alive."

The squirtle had approached the jeep. With another shout of its species' name, the pokémon proceeded to tackle the back of the jeep.

Nathan screamed girlishly. "My car...."

Nora giggled. "Talk about fender-benders," she said cheerfully.

"This isn't funny! My car…"

The squirtle continued to tackle the jeep, first from behind, then the front, breaking the lights and denting the door, the paint scratching off and onto the pokémon's shell.

"Nora," Nathan wailed, "stop it!"

Nora shrugged. "I dunno how. He probably thinks the jeep is a pokémon that attacked him..."

"Then tell him it's a jeep already!" Nathan yelled, arms flailing in the air.

Nora rolled her eyes, then stood back up and went over to the squirtle. "Hey, Mr. Squirtle."

There was no response.

"Squirtle-turtle."

He bashed into the jeep.

"Turtlehead."

Bash!

"Squirtleman!"

Bam!

"Tackle!"

The pokémon stopped. "Squirtle?"

Nora blinked. "Um, no, I said Tackle..."

Tackle nodded, turning back to the jeep.

"No, I don't mean to use tackle, I mean it's your name!" she said quickly. "You know, like when someone says 'hey, you with the face!'"

Tackle just looked confused.

"Oh, never mind. Just stop attacking my brother's car- he didn't mean to hit you."

"She's right!" he called, "I didn't, honest!"

The pokémon pointed at the crack on the front of his shell. "Squirt!"

"I know we hurt you," Nora went on, "but we didn't mean to do it- we just didn't see you."

The squirtle looked at the jeep, then back at Nora. He shrugged, then turned and trotted off on all fours, back into the forest.

"Hey, wait up!" Nora yelled, running after him. "Tackle, come back! Tackle!"

"Nora, wait a second," Nathan called, but didn't bother to stand, which lead to her disappearing into the forest after the squirtle. He sighed and hung his head. "Crap, I knew we should have waited another year…"


	7. Chapter 6

May 30th, 2001

* * *

Nora ran after the pokémon through the dark forest, stumbling over roots and ducking under branches. "Where are you going? Tackle, wait up already!"

Tackle ignored her, darting off deeper into the forest. Nora groaned, but continued her chase after the pokémon.

_I'll bet that Professor Oak is out of pokémon by now. I already have a relationship with this pokémon… if I could get him to trust me, maybe _he_ could be my first pokémon. I've already named him, after all!_

Suddenly Tackle stopped short, despite her pursuit. He stood up and looked around him, seeming anxious.

Nora stepped up beside him, scanning the dark forest. "What's wrong?" she asked, though she could already feel what was bothering him. A strange, creepy feeling slowly overcame her senses, and she couldn't move.

Tackle yelped, jumping up into Nora's arms. She held the pokémon tightly, looking around her, feeling like she was being watched by a thousand eyes.

Then it happened, in so brief an instant she nearly missed it.

A pokémon flew out in front of her. He didn't have wings, but he was still flying- a blur of purple and white, soaring straight through the trees effortlessly. The best glimpse of him she got was his face. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes as he went by, dark purple still imprinted into her memory long after he'd disappeared into the forest.

Nora stood rooted to the ground, dumbfounded. "What was that?" she asked Tackle.

Tackle shrugged. He didn't know either.

* * *

The old professor gave the pokémon a pat on his cracked shell. "Well, he looks fine and healthy to me. He'll need to be careful about that shell, but that should heal fairly soon." He looked at Nora. "Looks like you didn't need me to help you find your first pokémon, after all."

He sat down on the couch across from them, letting the pokémon frolic off. He leaned forward, fingers interloped and elbows at his knees.

"Now," he said in a more serious tone, "Explain to me again what you saw."

Nora sat down, but didn't know where to begin. "Well, before we even saw it, there was this weird feeling in the air... like when you walk down a dark alleyway, and you think someone's about to mug you, you know?"

Professor Oak nodded. "Continue."

"Um... well, he just came out of nowhere. He didn't have wings, but he was flying."

Nathan looked puzzled, lifting Tackle into his lap. "Could some other pokémon have thrown him, or something?"

Nora shook her head. "No, it looked like he was flying on purpose... he was dodging the trees, too. Anyway, he was big and white, and I think he had a tail that was purple too... but I only saw him for a second, so I don't know for sure. And he saw me," she added rapidly as she finished, "he saw me and gave me this look, like I shouldn't have seen him."

The professor nodded again, then opened up a laptop on the table in front of them. "I think I know what pokémon you saw, Nora Jane. Let me show you something..."

He opened up a file, and then turned the laptop around so she could see the screen. It had a video of a bulky building, surrounded by trees. The video shook slightly, and the viewer became aware of the cameraman recording the video without a tripod.

"This is a recording from a Team Rocket base outside of Viridian, about three years ago," Professor Oak explained. "A friend of mine was doing undercover investigations. Watch..."

After a moment, the building suddenly exploded in a brilliant blue light, a mushroom cloud of smoke rising up swiftly afterward. The cameraman could be heard cursing loudly in shock.

A sudden stream of the same blue light streaked across the sky, chasing a strange blotted figure, like smoke chasing an airplane. The camera followed the figure, which appeared to have something falling off of it. Professor Oak paused the video, then rose and moved to the side of the laptop to better control it. He zoomed in on the streak's edge, and pointed at the still picture.

"Is this the pokémon you saw, Nora?"

Nora squinted. The head of the pokémon appeared to be silver and black, but it's body and tail looked just as she remembered.

"Yeah, it is... is that a helmet it's wearing?"

"Yes," Professor Oak replied, closing his laptop. "That pokémon is called 'Mewtwo'. I find it quite remarkable that you saw him."

"Why is that?" Nathan asked, trying to calm down a hyper and playful Tackle.

"It is remarkable," Professor Oak said, "because he is the only one of his kind. Team Rocket created him in a lab experiment, to create the most powerful pokémon the world has ever seen, with Mew's DNA."

Nora scratched at her head. "Umm, Mew is that legendary pokémon, right?"

Professor Oak nodded. "Yes, that's right."

"How do you know so much about this Mewtwo?" Nathan inquired.

Professor Oak pointed to a photograph at the side of the table. "You see that boy?"

Both siblings leaned in for a closer look at the photo; a woman stood beside a younger Professor Oak, and between them stood an ecstatic little boy, giving the photographer a victory sign.

"That boy met Mewtwo as well," Professor Oak explained, "during his pokémon journey. He told me everything he knew about Mewtwo."

"Who is he?" Nora asked excitedly. "Is he around here? Can I talk to him?"

Nathan suddenly took a hold of Nora's shoulder. "Nora, please..."

Nora didn't understand what he was stopping her for, not until she saw the grim expression on Professor Oak's face.

"That boy," he said, "was Ash Ketchum."

There was moment of silence. Nora held her breath, realizing what her words had brought up.

"I'm sorry," she said swiftly, "I had no idea..."

The professor looked to the side of the room, out the window, a slight smile crossing his face. "It's quite alright. Anyway, you shouldn't worry too much about Mewtwo."

"Why?" Nora asked, puzzled.

Professor Oak gave a light shrug. "Because," he said, "there's only one of him, and he is always hiding. You'll never see him again."

* * *

Nora knew that Professor Oak had been trying to comfort her, but his words had left her unsettled. She sat down on the last step of the porch, backpack at her feet, Tackle sitting at her side. She rested her chin in her palms, staring at the ground.

"Why is he always hiding? Why didn't he want me to see him?" she glanced up at the sky, and saw the night stars twinkling. "Doesn't he ever get lonely?"

Tackle jumped up on her shoulder. Nora fell to the side and yelped in surprise, then giggled, her pokémon laughing along with her.

She wanted to share happy moments like these with the rest of her pokémon, the ones she was sure to capture on her journey. Somehow, she wanted one of those pokémon to be Mewtwo. It was a ridiculous thought, but she felt ready to shape that thought into a goal, even if it was only based on a chance encounter.

_Then again, maybe it wasn't so random. He probably sensed me with his powers before he saw me. He could have flown away from me, but he didn't. I think part of him _wants _to be seen._

"We're gunna see him again, Tackle," she said, smiling up at the stars. "We will find him someday, I'm sure of it."

* * *

Under the same night sky, Mewtwo stared up, thinking of the young woman he had seen that day.

He'd read her mind briefly. She was about to start her journey, and was eager to. She was older than most who began their journey, and was distraught over it.

_She shouldn't worry over such a thing, _he thought to himself. _The world is a dark place. It would have been a pity to taint her innocence so soon. Her brother did her a favor._

His tail flickered absently; an itch came to the back of his mind. _Brother… whenever I hear or think of that word…it's like I'm missing something… Someone…_

_It shouldn't even be possible, but that day, at the lab, I heard someone call me 'brother'. I thought it was Giovanni, but… no, it was a telepathic link. If that voice even existed, it must have been from someone with powers like my own. _

_I must be insane for thinking this… but… could I have a brother?_

Mewtwo mulled it over, then shook his head. He was remembering things that weren't there, digging too deep into his own mind. He had no brother, it was impossible, absurd.

_Just impossible._


	8. Chapter 7

AN: There will be one more time jump, or at least the last one for a while- but this one's a doozey. This chapter should cover the important facts that happen during this particularly large jump.

If anyone feels they need more of a background on what happened in this decade of this story, let me know and I'll squeeze in a chapter or two before this… Maybe. At the same time, if you feel all this background nonsense isn't necessary, let me know on my poll on my profile.

* * *

December 24th, 2002

* * *

Hundreds Die from Pokémon Attack

_Article by Robert King for The Golden Inquiry_

The Goldenrod Pokémon Center, which had been rebuilt to serve as an inn for over 500 trainers at a time, was under attack last night by a powerful psychic pokémon. The identity of the pokémon is unknown, but survivors of the attack claim that the pokémon was alone and attacked unprovoked. It is described to be a huge, black and red pokémon of a human-like shape. Its attack was described to involve spikes growing out of its tail. Never has such an attack been recorded to date, and there is no clear evidence of this being fact, or an illusion made by the pokémon's psychic abilities. The pokémon proceeded to destroy everything in sight, including all cameras and pokémon recovery equipment, leaving 12 trainers injured and 250 dead, and the 72 pokémon released to battle it were all eliminated. But while he wasn't provoked, there may have been a motive; the pokémon being stored at the center, and many of the trainers' pokémon, have all been stolen. This indicates another attack on pokémon centers made by Team Rocket, in an effort to get more pokémon. The Pokémon G-Men organization is currently investigating… (continued on page 4)

* * *

January 16th, 2003

Pokémon Photographer 'Captures' the Mysterious Mewtwo

_Photo by Youji Matsura, article by Robert King for The Golden Inquiry_

(Photo caption: A strange white-and-purple pokémon overlooks the city at night)

The young trainer and pokémon photographer Youji Matsura was heading for Goldenrod. It was nighttime, and Youji was in a hurry to reach civilization to dodge camping out in the wilderness. It was then that he saw it, a white and purple speck in the sky, hovering over the city like a star. Youji's resulting photo has earned him a scholarship to many colleges and plenty of cash for the tuition. But before starting his education, Youji learned a fascinating fact about the legendary.

"After I took my photo, I heard something come from the forest, like a call or a whistle or something. Just after that, Mewtwo turned towards the forest and flew away. It might just be a coincidence, but I think that Mewtwo has a trainer."

(continued on page 7)

* * *

May 2nd, 2003

G-Men and Rockets Fight War Over Clones

_Article by Robert King for The Golden Inquiry_

Trainers across the globe have reported an attack by a strange pokémon, which newscasts refer to as 'Mewthree' due to its reminiscence to Mewtwo. The majority of survivors have been rescued by the Pokémon G-Men, an organization meant for protecting pokémon from abusive trainers and the actions of Team Rocket. An interview with Lance, Elite Four member as well as a member of Pokémon G-Men, revealed the origins of this berserk pokémon.

"To our knowledge, the pokémon was engineered by Team Rocket as a fighting machine, using the DNA of Mew. But this isn't the rumored Mewtwo that was sighted earlier this year- this is a second clone, one that has once again been brought under Team Rocket's control."

While most know the species to be called 'mewtwo', Lance insistently called these creatures 'mewclones'. When asked where he got information on these clones, he refused to comment. But while he won't spill everything, there is a message he wants to get out to the public;

"Both of these clones are dangerous, and are just about the most powerful pokémon ever seen. Team Rocket might not be satisfied with just these two. If you ever see anything that looks like the pokémon Youji Matsura took a photo of, run for your life."

As of now, the Pokémon G-Men's main goal is to capture both pokémon, so as to stop them from harming the populace over Team Rocket's control. Both organizations are stuck in the midst of a 'Cold War', with both trying to keep the stronger pokémon away from the other without direct confrontation. Other teams from different regions have also gotten involved in this war, giving it the name 'The Team Cold War'.

Another issue G-Men are trying to handle is the appearance of anthropomorphic pokémon, a species of humans combined with pokémon, also known as 'pokémorphs'. G-Men believe these to be creations of Team Rocket as well.

"A lot of the genetics and chemistry involved in cloning could also apply to this kind of genetic mutation," Lance explained. "Team Rocket simply has no boundaries on what they'll do to gain power over the public. (continued on page 7)

* * *

October 26th, 2004

Mewthree Defeated by Mewtwo

_Article by Robert King for The Golden Inquiry_

The alleged murder machine controlled by Team Rocket has been both defeated and taken from Team Rocket's clutches. Yesterday, Team Rocket sent an army to fight G-Men at their HQ. What followed was a battle that used the Indigo Plateau itself as a battleground. The fight was lead by Mewthree, the feared creature that has killed thousands of people, pokémon and pokémorphs in the Team Cold War. Survivors of the battle say that no one was able to land even a scratch on Mewthree, and many had lost hope of winning the battle. Then, out of nowhere, Mewtwo appeared, and battled with his clone brother.

"Mewtwo is a far more intelligent pokémon than most credit him to be," said G-Men leader Lance. "Mewtwo has a conscience, and while he won't admit it, he cares about human and pokémon lives alike. He fought for the same reasons we did."

Most believe that Mewtwo's victory was due to his mastery over his psychic abilities, while Mewthree's strength lies in his physical attack known as 'Blood Tail'. While Mewthree was on the verge of unconsciousness, Mewtwo suddenly teleported both of them away, finishing the fight elsewhere. After this, the G-Men fought and apprehended every rocket they could manage, winning the battle against Team Rocket, and possibly the Cold War itself.

Now the question is, what happened to the clones, and who controls them?

"I think through this battle we got two things," Lance explains, all the while holding ice up to his right eye. "One, we've gotten Mewthree away from Team Rocket. We have no idea where he is, though, and we don't know if he'll continue attacking people on his own or just get captured again. Two, we have an indirect connection to Mewtwo. He's still a wild pokémon, but let's just say he knows one of our members. Maybe this way, we'll have him on our side."

As the first real battle in the Cold War, the gains and loses were extravagant on both sides: the death toll… (continued on page 6)

* * *

November 3rd, 2009

Libraries Bans Robert King's Offensive Books

_Article by Ginta Koishikawa for The Pallet Paper_

Great job, citizens! Robert King, the once great reporter on team affairs for the Golden Inquiry, now has both of his books, "The Pokémorph World" and "The Mystery of Mewclones" banned from libraries worldwide, and now this ban has finally spreading to Pallet Town after much debate. The fool was fired from the Golden Inquiry for writing articles that misquoted Elite Four member Lance, invented stories about the legendary pokémon species Mewtwo, and twisted the facts about a mass murderer to make his stories feel real to his readers. Thanks to contributing citizens like you, we've gotten that rubbish out of the ear of the next generation!

* * *

December 24th, 2009

A Merry Christmas Mewtwo?

_Article by Ginta Koishikawa for The Pallet Paper_

Magical things are said to happen during Christmas time, but none in Pallet town have had the same luck as our new resident Nora Jane Penkin. My wife and I were wrapping presents last night when we both suddenly saw the one and only one Mewtwo, flying outside by Nora's window.

By the time I had gotten to her house, the dangerously powerful pokémon had already left. Both Nora and her little boy Nathan were unharmed, and only Nora had seen the powerful legendary pokémon of great renown. In her dumbfounded state, all she managed to tell me was "I've never seen him before."

When discussing what the legendary might be doing peeking at Pallet residents, it was little Nathan who had the answer; "Maybe he liked our Christmas tree!" It was true that Nora's tree had been decorated elegantly with the help of her friendly pokémon. Even grouchy old legendaries can appreciate Christmas- isn't that a delightful thought?


	9. Chapter 8

September 26, 2014

* * *

_Dear Nora,_

_This is a special item that was created back in the day, when Team Rocket was still led by Giovanni's mother, Madame Boss. The scientists called it a key, though I have no idea why. It lets people use basic psychic powers, like telepathy. You'll never lose Mewtwo as long as you have it. All things considered, he's a good ally- keep him as close as you can._

_As I'm sure you can guess, I don't want to risk being seen with you anymore. I'm not going to give up what I have. I know that's selfish, but I'm a rocket after all. Stopping Mewthree was the last time we'd fight on the same side. The next time I see you, we'll be enemies, and I mean that. Don't worry; I'll still give Christi a hard time for you… well, for me, I guess. She really is a bitch._

_I'm really sorry about what happened to Nathan. Just remember that he's not your only family, and you haven't lost all of your friends._

_Take care, drop dead,_

_Fox _

Nora smiled as she read the crinkled, yellowing letter. She probably should have gotten rid of the letter by now, but something about her friendship with Fox made her hold on to it.

She stashed the letter away in the envelope, into her memory box, and then placed the box on top of the cupboard in the kitchen, where it would continue to gather dust. She gripped the chain around her neck, and pulled out the item Fox had given her.

It was a jaggedly cut crystal. It was a dark brown color, its surface shinning much like the inside of an abalone shell. It almost looked fake, unreal, though Nora knew better than to judge this artifact.

A loud thump came from upstairs. Nora glanced up, and then sighed, tucking the crystal away. "Houndoom, can you go wake him up?"

Her houndoom had been resting at her side, but perked up at the command. The dog-like pokémon trotted to the living room, then up the stairs and out of her line of vision.

Nora glanced down at the stove, having nearly forgotten the pancakes she was making. She rushed around the kitchen, looking for the spatula, cursing under her breath.

"Blast," said a deep voice lazily.

Nora looked down. Tackle had been sleeping under the table. He was now a fully evolved blastoise, and his shell still had the cracked scar on the front of his shell. He held up the red plastic spatula within a three-clawed paw.

Nora took the spatula and went to the stove, flipping pancakes in a rapid fashion. "Get your ass out from under there, or no pancakes for you."

"Blast," he rumbled, receding back under the table and into his shell.

Houndoom came back into the room, dragging a blue quilt alongside him in his mouth. There was another thump upstairs, and an anguished cry of "Mooom!"

"Breakfast is ready," Nora called up, "get dressed."

There was another loud whine, and more thumps as the boy stomped his feet grouchily across his room.

Houndoom chuckled, then sat by Nora's side and gave her typical puppy-dog eyes. Even the X-scar on his cheek seemed adorable when he begged. Nora giggled, tossing Houndoom a piece of bacon. She then went across the room, tripping over the dog and the quilt, grabbing the refrigerator door to stop her fall. She straightened, then opened the door and went hunting for milk between the molding orange juice and leftovers.

Her son's loud footsteps made the stairs creak and quiver as he dashed down them, a skinny blur of black. "Alright, alright, I'm here!" he snapped at Houndoom's barking. The boy burst into the kitchen, staggering over the quilt and landing in his seat.

Nora chuckled, placing a milk carton in front of him, and soon a whole plate full of pancakes. "Did you finish your homework last night?"

He nodded, snatching a forkful of breakfast. "It was fun," he said, before shoving it into his mouth.

Nora smiled at her son. He had his father's dark black hair, and her own brilliant blue eyes, partially covered by his bangs. He wore a dark jacket and a green-striped white t-shirt with dark blue jeans. He also had a bruise on his cheek, one she hadn't seen until the other day, when he came home from school. He refused to tell her where he got it, but she had an idea.

After a rapid chewing session, Nathan looked up at his mother. "Mom, why won't you let me skip a grade? My teachers keep saying that I should."

Nora was caught off guard by this question, looking away as she shifted her coffee mug. "Yeah, well, skipping grades and growing up is all overrated. I think you're fine just where you are."

"What if I just skip one grade?"

Nora smiled, taking a hold of her son's shoulder. "Come on, kiddo- if you jumped up all those grades, wouldn't you miss all the free time you have now?"

Nathan shrugged her hand off, looking glumly at his pancakes. "Sure, but I don't have much to do anyway..."

"That's not true. I see you hanging out with Suri all the time."

"Yeah, when she's not doing homework, which is hard for her. Come on Mom, pleeease?" his hands clasped in prayer of her approval.

Nora rolled her eyes, looking away again. "I don't know why you ask me when you know my answer."

"So you'll never ever change your mind _ever_?"

Nora sighed, her forehead falling to her hand. "Just finish your pancakes, Hun."

There was silence as Nathan continued tearing off pancake pieces and chewing rapidly. Nora rubbed her eyes, trying to think of a subject. Eventually, she found a good one.

"Did I ever tell you about Fox, the Team Rocket member?"

Nathan chewed on his bacon, which was smothered in syrup. "Yeah, I liked that story. But… is it a real story, or one of those made-up ones, like the stuff about mewclones?"

Nora smiled, glancing down. "I'll let you decide if it's real or not… well, I met her when I had just started my journey. This was when I was traveling with Christi, back-"

"I thought she was a rocket too," Nathan said, trying to wipe syrup off his mouth and failing.

"She is, but this is before she became a rocket… anyway, so I met Fox at the pokémon center in Goldenrod… well, I think it was Goldenrod…" she help her chin in her hand thoughtfully. "Maybe it was in the Kanto region…"

"So you met her at the pokémon center," Nathan egged her on.

"Yes, and Christi and I both thought she was just a trainer. I talked with her, and she seemed nice- a little cold, but nicer than even she realized."

"Which is why she was nice to you when the rockets robbed the Pokémon Center."

"Yes, she was. I managed to escape with my pokémon, but… well, even though she never said anything about it, I like to think she helped me somehow. We fought battles every once in a while, and at one point she could have stolen my pokémon, but she didn't. I knew she was good deep down."

"Didn't she help you defeat that Mewthree guy when he was working for Team Rocket, in the story you made up?"

Nora nodded. "That's right. I nearly had to tie her down… well, okay, I _did _tie her down, and got her to help me stop Mewthree. She really didn't want to at first, but she knew it was better for the world if she helped us.

"It was a very intense battle. I think her Ninetails was nearly killed, and Houndoom was worried about Dash too… and Chris, she'd chosen that moment to switch sides, which made everything worse. If Mewtwo hadn't shown up, I don't know what we would have done."

Nathan finished off his cup of milk, and wiped away the mustache he gained from it. "Why didn't Mewtwo come and help earlier? He didn't like Team Rocket anymore, right?"

Nora sighed heavily. "Yes, well… Mewtwo was conflicted over the whole ordeal. Mewthree was like a brother to him, after all."

"But wasn't Mewthree evil?"

Nora paused. She reached up and grasped the key around her neck, shutting her eyes. She could remember the one who had told her that there was no such thing as an evil pokémon… that was so long ago. Since then, the world seemed to have lost its innocence, and Nora hers.

"Yes, Nathan, Mewthree was evil."


	10. Chapter 9

September 26, 2014

* * *

Nora glanced at her watch. "You better get out the door, Hun- school is going to start soon. You've got some syrup," she warned, pointing.

Nathan attempted to wipe it off yet again, but could still feel the sticky substance on his cheek. "Aww man..."

Across the room the phone unexpectedly jumped off it's hook, as the speakers yelled, "Ring, ring, ring! Ring, ring, ring! Phone call! Phone call!"

Nathan jumped out of his chair. "I got it, Mom."

But she cut him off, taking his arm rather forcefully. "Oh no, I have it sweetheart. Get your backpack and go, 'kay?"

Nathan shrugged her hand off again, staring at her, puzzled. He then slung the backpack over his shoulder, still sparing a glance at her. "Bye Mom," he said finally, slipping his feet into loose sneakers and then darting out the door.

Nora rose up and moved quickly to the phone. She didn't answer until she was certain that Nathan had left. Once she had, a familiar face with graying-red hair filled the video screen.

"Lance," she said darkly, "I told you not to call me on this phone, remember? What if my kid was here?"

"This is urgent," Lance's voice bleared over the speakers. "We have a mission for you, right now."

Nora sighed once again. "What is it?"

"Team Rocket is planning an attack on the Pokémon Center in Viridian. It's the usual rundown- they're going to steal all of the Pokémon residing there, and, if necessary, take hostages. We've already got it set up for you to go in undercover."

Nora took in a harsh breath through her nose. "What kind of backup can I expect?'

Lance's image smirked. "Does the notorious G-Man Nora Penkin need backup on a petty mission?"

Nora smiled, then shrugged. "I guess not. When do I need to get there?"

"Soon- the robbery has been planned to start at twelve o'clock sharp. The sooner you get there, the smoother the transition."

"Right," she said with a nod. "I'll get right on it…"

Without another word she hung up. She un-tucked the crystal from underneath her blouse, holding it's chain and watching it dangle.

((Mewtwo,)) she thought, ((we have a mission.))

There was a hesitant pause. Nora felt an itch behind her head, convincing her to glance over her shoulder in paranoia.

_Always makes me feel like I'm being watched, _she thought to herself.

((Thirty seconds,)) came the clone's response.

Nora cringed. ((Make it more than that. I can't just disappear off the face of the earth anymore, my neighbors noticed last time.))

((Teleporting isn't a difficulty for me. It will help the mission if you get there as quickly as possible.))

((I know, but it's in Viridian, and that's not far away. Dash can get me there in an hour, maybe less, leaving us three hours to get everything set up.))

There was brief silence.

((…Alright, but hurry. Take the back entrance to the center; I'll meet you inside.))

((Okay. See you soon,)) she finished, dropping the crystal. She then opened a drawer and pulled out her pokébelt, as well a few glass vials of water, which she stashed in her pockets. "Alright boys, we're going."

Tackle had already woken up at Lance's call, and was stuffing his face with pancakes while he still could. Houndoom had run about the house, and now had a pikachu riding on his back. This pikachu had black ear tips that were more jagged than most. A tired umbreon also entered the room, twitching his scarred ears, followed by a butterfree with a dent in his wing.

_Zap, Speed, Freedom… yes, that's everyone._

Nora took out their pokéballs. "You guys know the drill, right? Everyone ready?"

Wiping syrup off his face, Tackle gave a sharp nod. Zap's cheeks buzzed with electricity, Freedom flapped his wings, Speed and Houndoom nodded solemnly together.

Nora nodded back to her pokémon, then returned them, the group vanishing in a flash of red light. She placed the pokéballs at her belt and darted out the back door, sparing only a moment to take a cargo jacket off the coat rack.

A Rapidash stood on her lawn, grazing on the grass. She looked up at Nora just before the trainer launched herself onto the horse pokémon. She nearly fell off, and started cursing again. "Damn, I need a saddle… let's go, Dash- Viridian!"

Dash reared, rather negligent of the rider on her back, and then darted off, having run across Pallet within two minutes time. Nora held on for her life, as Dash fought to beat her old record in her rush to Viridian.

* * *

"…and this pokémon is called a mewtwo, which is a rare legendary pokémon. This pokémon is psychic. Some people believe that it's the evolved form of mew, but others believe that it is the de-evolved form, because mewtwo was discovered before mew was. It is uncertain of which is which, but as to their origin, many believe that the mewtwos were… Nathan? Are you listening?"

Nathan didn't look up from his desk, but answered, "Yes, Mr. Redwood. You're talking about the different mewtwo theories."

"Good. As I was saying…"

Nathan wasn't much of an artist, but he had nothing better to do. This led to the crude sketch of his mother riding on Dash. He just couldn't get the flames right on Dash's mane- no matter how he changed the drawing, it looked like his mother was on fire.

"Nathan, can you look up at me, please?"

Nathan dropped his pencil, and looked up at his teacher. "Yes, Mr. Redwood."

Mr. Redwood approached Nathan's desk, taking away his drawing. "See me after class," he said darkly.

"Yes, Mr. Redwood," Nathan said, glancing down at his desk as the other students giggled.

* * *

"Nathan, what have I told you about drawing in class?"

Nathan shrugged. "To do something better with my time?"

"Exactly. Even if you already know_ oh_ so much about a subject, Nathan, if you're not going to listen to my instructions on the homework, the least you could do is _the homework_."

Nathan shrugged again. "I already finished it last night."

Redwood leaned forward, eyebrow raised curiously. "Show me."

Nathan picked up his backpack from his feet and rummaged through it, first pulling out a binder and then a thick, stapled essay, with fairly nice handwriting.

"It's about the legendaries in Johto," he explained as he passed it to his teacher. "You wanted us to write about just one legendary, but since Ho-Oh, Suicune, Entei and Raikou were all correlated, I did one big essay on Ho-Oh and smaller essays on the rest of them."

Mr. Redwood ran a hand over his balding head, looking at Nathan incredulously. "Umm… well… I guess that's why-"

"-I'm your star pupil, I know," Nathan said tiredly. "Can I go now?"

Mr. Redwood frowned at Nathan. "You're not having much fun in my class, are you boy?"

Nathan shrugged. "Not really, Mr. Redwood."

"Then why did you write four essays on legendaries when I only asked for one? Usually you would give me just one perfect paper."

Nathan shrugged again. "I dunno. I guess I liked this subject better. I want…" he glanced shyly at his shoes. "I wanna be a pokémon trainer someday, or maybe an expert. Or a breeder… something to do with pokémon."

Mr. Redwood rose from his desk, tossing the essays down as he grabbed his coat. "Well, then the solution is simple. You should start your journey. You're old enough, aren't you?"

Nathan nodded, but kept his head low. "I guess I am… but Mom won't let me until I'm at least 16. She won't even let me skip one grade in school."

"Well, how about I have a talk with her?"

Nathan looked up, his expression brightening quickly. "That'd be great, Mr. Redwood."

Mr. Redwood already had his coat on, and was headed for the door. "Then I will. Your boredom is important to me, too," he said with a smile. "Now, let's go grab some lunch."

Nathan grabbed his lunch out of his backpack, and then ran up beside Mr. Redwood, walking along with him to the cafeteria.

"Mr. Redwood, I do have a question about the mewtwo."

Mr. Redwood nodded down to him. "Fire away."

"My Mom says that 'Mewtwo' isn't the name of the species, just the most well-known one, and that they're really called mewclones. And she says they're called mewclones because Team Rocket created them using DNA-"

"-using DNA from an eyelash, and that it destroyed the laboratory and flew away."

"Yes, that's what she says."

"Well, that's just a silly little conspiracy theory made up by people who wanted a laugh. Your mother should do more research on the mewtwos."

"But has it been proven wrong?"

"Yes, it has; there have been many mentions of multiple mewtwos in ancient scrolls."

"Mom says Celebi teleported him back in time a lot, and it looked like there was a whole bunch because mewtwo would meet himself in a paradox constantly."

Mr. Redwood stopped, staring down at Nathan with that incredulous look again. "Your… mother said that?"

Nathan nodded. "Yes, Mr. Redwood."

"Was she serious?"

"I think she might have been, Mr. Redwood."

"Does she have any evidence of this?"

Nathan shook his head. "No, Mr. Redwood- but Mom doesn't lie to me."

Mr. Redwood blanched uncomfortably, gulping. "Umm…"

"Is my mom crazy, Mr. Redwood?"

Mr. Redwood stared down at Nathan, and then gave him a brief pat on the shoulder before walking off wordlessly.


	11. Chapter 10

September 26, 2014

* * *

"Good job, Dash. Return."

The pokémon lay exhaustedly on her side, still panting heavily as Nora returned her. The G-Man stashed the pokéball on her belt as she strode to the sidewalks of Viridian, half a step faster than the people surrounding her. The streets were overflowing with activity, and Nora mixed with it naturally. She only spared a glance or two over her shoulder, incase she was being followed.

The pokémon center wasn't hard to get to. She ambled casually through the back door, and came into the supply room. Glass shelves of pokéballs, all different types and colors, covered the walls from top to bottom.

Mewtwo stood at the room's center, awaiting her arrival. He motioned to a pile of clothes, placed on the floor at the corner of the room- Nurse Joy's dress, hat, stockings and shoes.

((There is her uniform. She's already home, thinking she has the day off.))

"Good," Nora said, tearing off her jacket. "What do we do about these pokémon here, though? Should we teleport them somewhere safe?"

((I already teleported the majority of the pokémon to the spring. These are pokémon due to be picked up today, while the rest are empty pokéballs.))

"Good thinking," Nora praised. She paused, then turned around and unbuttoned her blouse. "Don't look at me."

Mewtwo chuckled at this. ((Believe me, Nora, I have no attraction to you whatsoever.))

"Oh, that's right. Sometimes I forget that you're not a human."

((Why is that?))

"I can hold full conversations with you,"

Another echoing chuckle. ((I see.))

As Nora pulled Joy's dress over her head, she could hear the ventilation shaft cover clack and scuff as it was removed.

"What are you doing?"

((This is where you want me to hide, isn't it?))

"Sure, but the last time I made you go up there, you complained about 'clambering around in the dark like a rebellious teen in a silly movie.' I didn't expect you to be in such a rush to do it again."

((I'm not enjoying this, is that's what you mean, I just-)) but he was cut off by the ceiling's loud, obnoxious creek.

Nora froze, Joy's hat in her hands. "You just what?"

((…Umm, Nora?))

Mewtwo said 'umm', a bad sign. "What is it?"

((Er… don't turn around.))

Nora smirked to herself, placing the hat on the shelf. "Are you getting undressed?"

((This isn't funny,)) he snapped, suddenly tense.

"Alright, are you going to tell me, or should I just turn around?"

He sighed. ((… The shaft is too small.))

Nora turned, and gawked at the sight of Mewtwo's large, kangaroo like legs waving in the air, tail flailing in irritation.

Nora hollered with laughter. She knew this would only annoy him, but she couldn't help herself. An angry growl echoed in her head.

((Will you get me out of here?))

Nora walked up, still giggling. "Can't you just teleport out?"

((Teleporting takes energy, which I'd like to preserve. The last time something went wrong during a mission, I was nearly captured.))

Nora understood this, grabbing one of his now limp legs and tugging sharply.

Mewtwo grunted. ((Ow. Ow! Careful.))

"You really wedged yourself up there, didn't you?"

((Can you keep your comments to yourself?))

"Of course not."

He grunted again, this time at her words.

Nora pulled, and felt him getting loose. Another sharp tug, and she had fallen sprawled on her back, Mewtwo on top of her.

"Damn," she hissed, the rest of her breath flying out of her. She coughed as she took in another breath. "Okay, no more shafts for you… get your ankle out of my face…"

((Get your ass off my tail.))

They detangled themselves. Nora started to giggle again, walking back over to the remaining pile of clothes, picking up some hair bands. "Well, where can you hide now?"

((I haven't the slightest idea. Maybe I can just teleport in when the commotion starts… well, how can I tell when it starts if I'm not watching? I could… no, reading someone's mind could give me away… damn, now I _want _to fit in the shaft.))

"Maybe you could teleport into a cupboard or something, behind the counter."

((Will I fit?))

"You might."

(('Might' isn't a solution…))

"Do you still 'haven't the slightest idea?'"

((…Yes.))

"Then shut up."

She grabbed the hat, placed it on, and turned around. She felt like saying something like _ta daa, instant joy!_ but was stopped by Mewtwo's grouchy expression.

((Why do I put up with all of this nonsense?))

"Revenge against Team Rocket."

((Ah.))

* * *

"Hey Nate, quit walkin' so fast… Natey boy…"

Nathan glanced at the bully tracking him, having to look up far to see his face. "I paid you in advance last week."

"I don' take advances, I just take bonuses. I told you that yesterday."

Nathan stopped walking. Mitch and his goons had him cornered, behind a building and a wire fence. Young fifth graders called this area 'the torture chamber'.

_I should have paid more attention to where I was going… how does he always do this?_

"Are you going to hit me again?"

Mitch cracked several knuckles into is palm. "I'll prolly hit you more than once."

"I see," Nathan said, his tone casual. He then ran to the wire fence, and launched himself on it, clambering up to the top. One of the goons took hold of his ankle, and he had to kick down with his other foot to free himself.

He pulled himself over the top of the fence a bit too quickly, and wound up falling to the ground on his side. He groaned, staggering back up to find two goons climbing the fence, the rest of the mini-gang running around the fence to get to him.

_Geeze, these guys are persistent._

He ran. They chased him. It was very exhausting. Soon he was far from school grounds, but they kept tailing him, for whatever reason. He grew out of breath, wondering if he should just stop now and let them beat him up, just so he might have enough time to get to class. He wasn't outrunning them, that was certain.

He tore himself across a large field, and saw a tree up ahead of him. In this tree sat a snoring girl, one he vaguely recognized.

_Yes! I'm saved!_

He waved his arms at her. "Hey, over here! Help me out!"

The girl jerked a bit between the branches as she awoke, rubbing her eyes and round glasses. "Eh?"

Nathan tumbled over a rock and hit the ground, groaning again. Mitch and his mini-gang caught up with him, all of them laughing.

"You're asking for help from some nerdy girl?" Mitch asked. "Man, you're hopeless."

The girl glanced over at the bully, pushing her glasses back over her freckled nose. "And what's wrong with asking a girl for help?"

"Girls can't fight," Mitch replied.

The girl snorted. She jumped down from the tree, beside Nathan, brushing her brown hair back over the shoulders. She wore muddy and frayed overalls, though this wasn't as intimidating as her glare.

"I thought the kids in Pallet were more educated than that," she said with a smirk. "I guess I was wrong. Alright, put 'em up!" she said, fists at her chin.

"Alex," Nathan said tiredly, still on his hands and knees, "you shouldn't fight alone."

"Why not? They're not even in middle school yet- I beat them in experience alone."

The boys looked at each other, confused; the girl, Alex, didn't look much older than they were.

"I know, but you're still outnumbered."

Her shoulders sagged. "Yeah, you're right… Ah well, I'll just have to call back up then."

"Back up?" Mitch asked.

Nathan stood up, then gave the group behind him a smile. Alex put her fingers to her mouth and whistled sharply.

There was a pause. A shadow suddenly fell over the mini-gang, beneath a cloudless sky. All of them started to panic, Mitch staring about wildly.

"Man, he's making an entrance," Alex said to herself.

"Up there!" one of the group yelled, and all looked to the sky. A dark figure was growing bigger by the second, then the beast swooped down on them, wings outstretched, the wind that followed him nearly knocking them all over.

It was Alex's black charizard. The dragon type landed a few feet away, a blazing flame flying from his mouth into the air, before he faced them with a snarl. This was more than enough the send the mini-gang tripping over themselves on their way off.

Alex and Nathan laughed, Alex giving him a pat on the back. "Did you see how they freaked out?" she asked him. "I wouldn't worry about those guys for a while."

"Thanks, Alex," he said, "you're a good friend."

Alex wrapped an arm around his neck and gave his a rough noogie. "Oh yeah? What kind of friend doesn't see their friend unless they're being chased by thugs? I've been in Pallet for almost a week, kiddo!"

Nathan yelped, pushing himself out of her grasp. "Well geeze, how was I supposed to know?"

Alex smirked down at him. "What has distracted you so much that you don't even know?"

"Know what? Wait… Oh, you mean…"

She nodded, grinning. "Yup! I'm in this year's Pokémon League contest. Got all the badges and everything… So I'm just hanging out here, since it's close to Indigo Plateau."

"So you're going to be on TV and everything?"

"I sure am."

Nathan smiled. "That's really cool. I'm jealous."

Alex gave him a punch in the shoulder. "Aw come on, it's not _that_ big of a deal. Everyone gets into tournaments at some point when they're training- I just hope I do well. Lets get you back to class, I'll tell you more about it later… Charcoal, return."

As the giant dragon disappeared in a red blaze of light, Nathan kicked at the rock he had tripped on. "Alex, do you think I'll be a good trainer, even if I'm sixteen?"

Alex gave him a pat on the shoulder she'd recently bruised. "Age doesn't matter, kid. You'll do great someday, I'm sure of it."

"But I'll be so far behind…"

"For example," she went on, "look at your mom- she started late too. She's a great trainer, isn't she?"


	12. Chapter 11

September 26, 2014

* * *

((I must be the worst pokémon trainer in the world.))

((Why do you say that?))

((Because, instead of capturing a freaking mewclone, I'm shoving him into a cupboard.))

By luck or chance, the counter's cupboard had been basically empty, and had doors on both sides of the counter, giving just the space and mobility he would need for this mission.

((That does make you a bad trainer,)) Mewtwo admitted, ((but a good friend, too.))

Nora smiled to herself. ((Thanks.))

"Nurse Joy!"

Nora looked up, and saw a young boy rapidly approaching the counter. Going on autopilot, she started rambling: "Hello and welcome to the pokémon center, we restore your tired pokémon to full health, would you like to rest your pokémon?"

The boy gave her an awkward, slightly fearful stare. "…Yes?"

Nora shook her head. "Umm, sorry, I didn't mean to do that. May I see your pokémon?"

The boy held up a pokéball. "I just saw this rattata by the road and captured it; I think something beat him up."

Nora gasped, hands at her mouth. "Ohmygoshnoway! That poor thing must be an abandoned pokémon!"

The boy's look worsened. "…What?"

Nora felt her forehead with the back of her hand. "That poor rattata was probably in the middle of a battle, and when she was defeated, the cruel man felt he had no further use of a weak pokémon. So he tossed her aside, shattering her pokéball to show that he no longer-"

((Nora, _shut up!_))

She snapped out of it instantly, taking the pokéball, her face bright red. "Sorry, my imagination got away with me… the trainers these days, you know?"

The trainer stared at her.

Nora sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Why's your hair red?"

"…what?"

He pointed at her, continuing his random observation. "Your hair is red, redder than the last joy's hair. Why is that?"

Nora gulped. Few actually noticed her hair color when she disguised herself as a Nurse Joy. "Oh, I'm just… well… the sun did it?"

Awkward silence.

"I'll heal your pokémon right away."

He squinted at her. "You do that."

As Nora placed the pokéball on the machine, she heard Mewtwo's comment. ((You know, Nora, you're not a very good Nurse Joy either.))

((Give it a rest.))

Then it happened; a car screeched outside, and footsteps marched as the building was surrounded by their opponents.

Nora inhaled, puffing out her chest and holding her breath. ((He we go.))

She could hear a light creak as Mewtwo bumped the doors of his cupboard open a crack, to observe the hostage situation. Nora wanted to tell him that a pokéball would be much more comfortable that the cramped space of the cupboard. That, of course, was a more frightening subject than Team Rocket.

The double doors swung open; a man marched through, his dark cap covering his face. He had no uniform, but a red 'R' had been tattooed onto the lower half of his right shoulder, much of this 'R' shadowed by his short sleeved jacket. It was strange that Nora saw his tattoo first; only after the weapon had sounded off and smashed a light on the ceiling did she realize that he had a shotgun.

"Trainers, on the ground! Nurse Joy, hands on your head!"

Nora obeyed, watching customers both young and old duck down, hands covering their necks.

((I know this rocket,)) Mewtwo said, ((his name is Dagobert. I've fought him before.))

((When?))

((I can't recall, but he isn't your average grunt. There is something else behind this attack.))

Nora knew he was right. Holding up a pokémon center was kiddy stuff for rockets. If this Dagobert was even one rank higher than a grunt, then there was another reason behind this hostage situation than just getting pokémon.

More rockets poured in through the door, like ants out of an anthill. And then, _she_ came through the door.

Even behind a dark black cap, Nora could see and recognize the dark, olive green eyes the rocket had, her tanned and freckled skin, her short and messy brown hair.

"Christi!" Nora shouted. ((Mewtwo, this is-))

((-a trap,)) he finished.

At Nora's outburst, Dagobert smirked, aimed, and fired.

Nora dove under the counter, hands on her neck as bullets whizzed by, other grunts firing at her with their leader. By the time they'd stopped, Christi's hand grasped her dress collar, the barrel of a handgun at Nora's temple.

"We know you're here, Mewtwo!" Christi shouted, dragging Nora to her feet. "Surrender yourself, or Nora's dead! One!"

((Mewtwo, don't attack!))

"Two!"

((It's a trap! They'll capture you!))

"Three!"

The bullet fired. Nora screamed, and fell to the ground.

Blood oozed down the side of her face, and she could feel the burn from the gun barrel, but the bullet hadn't even touched her skull. The bullet was, in fact, floating at the edge of Christi's barrel, covered in blue.

Christi yelled out as she was thrown into a wall by a blue flash; Mewtwo stood between her and Nora with his eyes aglow and hand outstretched; Dagobert chuckled, tilting his shotgun back before tossing it aside lazily.

"Well, would you look at that," he said smugly, "the proud Mewtwo really does show compassion."

((Leave now,)) Mewtwo warned him, ((or you will face my wrath.))

"Yeah, I thought you might say that."

Another weapon was fired by the grunts- a sniper. Mewtwo grunted, staggering, a green dart sticking into his shoulder.

"That should keep your powers at a minimum," Dagobert sneered.

Mewtwo glared at him, his hand grasping at the dart, plucking it out without flinching. ((Then this match all depends on how quickly the serum acts.))

"It's pretty damn fast," Christi spat, stinging like acid, "you've already wasted your time chatting."

Mewtwo raised his brow. ((Have I?))

Dagobert's smirk faltered. Before he had a chance at guessing what had happened, a loud crack from above answered him. Giant chunks of the ceiling (including metal from the ventilation shaft) crumbled and fell on the rockets. Dagobert was able to dodge this attack while many others gained concussions or split heads. Christi was the only one who awkwardly found a middle ground, letting rubble land on her shoulder.

The blue glow in Mewtwo's eyes flickered like a broken monitor. He cringed, then let out a yell before falling to his knees, one hand on the ground and the other clutching his head. ((Damn…)) he said, but his voice trailed away with a loss in volume; his powers had been blown out like candle flames.

Nora went to his side, getting nervous. The room was still full of rockets. She tore out three pokéballs, wondering if Dash had rested long enough. "Dash, Tackle, Houndoom, out now!"

A blaze of white, and her pokémon appeared in front of her in a protective formation. Her houndoom growled, her rapidash whinnied, her blastoise rumbled.

Dagobert looked unimpressed, tossing out his pokémon, both apparating in front of Nora's team; a fiery magmar and muscular machoke. Christi followed this by sending out her own pokémon, a deep-blue golduck. The rockets were decent enough to not send out their entire teams, but Nora knew how easily the table could be spun around.

_Geeze, _Nora thought, _this is going to suck._

"Go, Hydro!"

Nora and Mewtwo looked at the trainers. One of the young boys had stood up during the commotion, and nervously released his squirtle. Neither Nora nor Mewtwo had even seen a witness get involved like this.

Suddenly other trainers got up as well, and shouts ran across the room as people released their pokémon. Soon a whole army was up against two conscious rockets.

With a dark snort, Christi raised her weapon and shot Hydro in the head.

All the trainers screamed, and the tables spun.

Enraged, Tackle charged at Christi and used his favorite attack, smashing her into the wall. Her golduck tried to push him off, but was more successful in pushing him into Christi.

Dash and Houndoom both charged, Dash ramming into the magmar while Houndoom jumped on machoke. Machoke caught Houndoom's bite with his arm, and waved him off roughly, while magmar retaliated to Dash's ram with a punch. The fire types fell back, then immediately switched, Houndoom fire-blasting the magmar as Dash used a reckless take down attack on the machoke.

Dagobert tore out a masterball, staring at Mewtwo with intent, but froze, glancing over his shoulder. "'Da hell?"

"Dag," Christi yelled, struggling with the weight of two water types crushing her, "Get them already!"

Dagobert had already made his move. He had returned his pokémon and was running past the counter towards the back door.

Because Lance was standing at the front doorway, with his Dragonite charging a hyper beam.

"Oh, shit!" Christi wailed, squirming helplessly as her pokémon was knocked unconscious by the dragon's attack. She continued to squirm, but was pressed to the ground by Tackle as Lance walked into the room.

"Christi Agostini," Lance declared, "you are under the custody of the organization G-men, and you will not be turned in to the police until our business with you is over. You are to understand that we have the lawful right to hold you…" he sighed. "Blah blah blah, you've memorized it by now…"

Christi gasped out several curse words as Tackle sat on her triumphantly.

Lance looked down at Nora. "You and MT okay?"

Nora rolled her eyes. "Other than the bullet-hole giving me a headache, I think I'll be okay. It's Mewtwo I'm worried about."

A strange but familiar look fell over Lance's face; he seemed wary, but still willing to try what he had a thousand times.

"We've got a medic out back that can look at him."

Mewtwo glared at Lance. Nora shook her head. "That's okay, I can take care of him."

Lance took a step forward, and Houndoom darted up to him, growling. Lance continued right by the dog-type, knowing the pooch couldn't touch him.

"No, really, he should come with us. Who knows what that new serum did to him," he said, reaching down and grabbing Mewtwo's arm.

Mewtwo shrugged him off, and let out a growl of his own, his only way of communicating.

Lance's face fell, eyes on Nora. "Could you control him, please?"

"It's not my job, Lance."

"Like hell it isn't," Lance said tensely.

Nora held her breath. She hated these arguments, these pushes; the G-men had always wanted her to actually capture Mewtwo. When she didn't, they made these threatening moves on him, disregarding his feelings entirely. Nora knew that if she let Lance take Mewtwo now, Mewtwo would be loosing his freedom.

Growing desperate, she reached to her belt, and pulled out a masterball.

* * *

Author's note: If I took the time to actually title these chapters, I would call this one "WTF?!". Of course, this barely covers how messed up an rp battle can get. If you don't get my humor, yell at me in a review.


	13. Chapter 12

September 26, 2014

* * *

Nathan came home from school, and as he walked up the back door he noticed that Dash wasn't outside. He chuckled to himself, thinking that he must have been psychic to draw a picture of his mom riding Dash. She would do this sometimes, just take off for a day to relive being a trainer. It never bothered Nathan, since he could imagine doing the same thing when he was a grown up.

He scooped up his blanket from the kitchen and headed upstairs to his room. He threw his blanket and backpack onto his bed, stumbling over the open chemistry book he'd gotten from the library; his desk and floor were littered with all sorts of books. He picked up the chem. book to put it away, but stopped, the chapter title "Acids and Bases" catching his eye. Soon he was sitting in the middle of the floor, reading the book, his surroundings vanishing as he was immersed in chemistry, sucked in just as tightly as a fantasy novel would take him.

As he read about the pH of acids, Nathan started to wonder what kind of acid a pokémon used in their acid attack. He hunted through the books on his desk and found a book called "Pokémon Attacks and Why They Have Them", and soon discovered that the attack had a very high acidity. He went back to the chemistry book to find that getting hit by such acid would be bad news for humans… but why didn't it harm pokémon as badly? Or did it? He found a book on the floor called "Pokémon Battle Facts" and found a chapter about "Differences from Humans and Animals" in the table of contents. This revealed that pokémon were generally stronger and more resilient than animals and humans, making the acid less deadly for them. Nathan then wondered why there were fewer animals than pokémon, as he had only ever seen a couple of goldfish. He went from one book to the other in this fashion, one question leading to a new question, a curiosity taking him to another book.

Then the doorbell rang, and he snapped out of his habitual trance. "Who is it?"

"It's me," came Suri's voice.

"Be right there," he called, putting his book down and running out to greet her.

He opened the front door, and Suri Matsura beamed up at him, pushing her black dress shoes off on the doormat and putting her sunhat on the hat rack. Her thin straight hair fell just below her shoulders, so light a shade of blonde that it was off-white. She had a sense and look about her that many defined as innocent, but Nathan thought of it more as proper- her white dress, her sun hat, her shoes, her manners, they were all classy and warm, and expected of her.

She put her hands behind her, clasping them tightly. "Guess what?"

Nathan smiled. "You're uncle is a Tyranitar?"

Suri giggled. "You weirdo, you're not really supposed to guess."

"But it's fun to guess," he objected happily, sitting down on the rug as she sat down on the couch. "So what is it really?"

"I found a meowth yesterday, and he was all abandoned and stuff, so Mommy said I could keep him all for myself. Isn't that cool?"

Nathan winced when she said 'meowth'. "That's neat," he said tiredly.

Suri paused, then bent down to peer at him. "You don't look happy. What's a'matter?"

He slouched back, leaning against his palms on the rug. "Everything has been reminding me of pokémon training. I guess it's a hard subject to ignore, since pokémon are everywhere, but I just wish…" he sighed, head hung low.

Suri slouched as well, back into the couch. "Does that mean you don't wanna play "Pokémon Masters" today?"

"… Yes, Suri, it does."

"Aww, but I love that game."

Nathan facepalmed.

It was then that the back door creaked open. "I'm home, kiddo!"

"Hi mom," Nathan called.

"Hi, Ms. Penkin!" Suri yelled excitedly. She then looked back at Nathan. "It's Ms., right? Not Mrs.?"

Nathan facepalmed, again and again, flopping down onto his back as he beat his own brow.

"Quit it!" Suri yelped, "I'm not that stupid!"

Nora stepped into the room, a Band-Aid on her temple. "Hey, kids! I'd make you some lunch, but I need to go upstairs and take a nap real quick."

"Why do you have a band-aid, Mom?"

Nora smiled down at her son. "Why do you have a bruise on your cheek?" she asked cheerfully.

Nathan shrugged. "I dunno."

"Mitch has been beating him up at school," Suri rambled.

Nathan sat up. "Suri, why'd you do that?"

Suri shrugged. "It's true."

Nora facepalmed. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Yeah, I know about Mitch honey. I've talked to Mitch's parents, but they're just as bad as he is."

"Told ya she already knew!" Suri quipped.

Nora knelt down beside her speechless son, taking her hand out of her hair and through his. "Do you want a tip on handling bullies?"

Nathan already didn't seem impressed. "Enlighten me."

"The key to bullies is that they lose interest very fast. If you stop giving them what they want, and even beating you up doesn't help them get it, they'll move on and leave you alone."

Nathan scratched at the back of his neck, a bit anxiously. "Okay, I see how that works… but Mitch doesn't just beat you up. The other day…" Nathan hung his head again, this time in shame. "He said that you were… a bad word. And I… might have retaliated. I had to pay him in advance to get him off my back."

"You know why he said that, don't you?"

Nathan shrugged. "Because he's a dumb jerk?"

Nora giggled, ruffling up his hair until it stood on end. "They only want to get you to react. If you don't react, they don't get what they want- and that's the most important thing, kiddo; to never give your enemies what they want."

With that, Nora stood up, told them not to bother her nap, and went upstairs to her room. Once inside, she locked the door, back against it.

She pulled out a masterball.

And she released Mewtwo.

He faded into sight, sitting on her bed. His eyes were shut, head low. He didn't make a single motion towards her.

"Sorry about that," Nora said, trying to sound casual, "but your powers were out, and the G-men were talking about taking you off to some lab the other day, and… anyway, I trust G-men with a lot of things, but not with you. I didn't have another way of getting you out of there before they made any moves. You hate labs worse than pokéballs, right?

"Are you feeling better now, Mewtwo? Your powers back yet?"

He didn't make a single motion, any hint at a reply.

Nora bit at her lip, then looked down at the open masterball. She gripped each half, and then twisted them away from each other, pulling hard. Eventually the thin clasp holding it together snapped in half, her fingers raw from the metal. She smiled, tossing the pieces into a wastebasket beside her bed.

"Worst thousand ever spent," she muttered, sitting down on the bed beside him.

And then he replied. ((You're a terrible pokémon trainer,)) he said. ((You're truly a pokémon master.))

She stared up at him, cheeks growing warm. "Umm… thanks, I guess."

He nodded to her, and then stood up, walking across the room, towards the window with a wide view of Pallet. ((Today was rather… chaotic, wasn't it?))

"Yeah, tell me about it. I can't use my Nurse Joy cover anymore, the rockets have actually grown some brains. You almost got captured today, and I was nearly killed. My son was a mistake away from being an orphan."

Mewtwo remained silent.

"Mewtwo… I've been thinking, and… we need to retire. _I _need to retire," she corrected, head dropping back into a pillow.

More silence. A stinging silence, in which Nora was able to recall her entire life since she'd met Mewtwo.

((Then this is goodbye,)) Mewtwo said.

Nora sat back up. "What do you mean?"

Mewtwo just gazed out the window, a hard and intense stare. ((If you have no further use of me, then I must leave.))

She jumped to her feet. "No, that's not fair. You can't just take off once I quit."

((If you have no further use of me-))

"I have plenty of use for you! You're my best friend, Mewtwo, you're _family_!"

She knew that word had struck something, a nerve, a memory, a thought. He finally looked away from the window, cat eyes staring at her sadly.

((I was not born into your family.))

"Some families aren't born, they're created." She paused, realizing how weird that sounded. "Mewtwo, you don't really want to just go off and forget me, do you?"

Mewtwo shook his head. ((No, never forget. I do care about you, Nora, and your team of pokémon- but we can never really be family.))

"Sure we can, we're family right now."

Mewtwo shook his head again. He glanced down towards the floor, tail swaying slowly behind him.

((He's wondering about me all the time,)) Mewtwo said with a soft smile.

Nora's head dropped to the floor as well.

((Sometimes he believes your stories, for all that they're worth. Sometimes he doubts them the way a child doubts a fairytale. He knows that you believe in them either way, he sees the light in your eyes when you tell him our adventures. He's a bright child, a strong and confident boy.)) He looked at her. ((You say we are family, but you won't let me near him.))

"Mewtwo, just knowing you exist is a danger for Nathan. We agreed to introduce you to him when he was ready."

((Isn't he ready now?))

"Mewtwo, he's just a boy! He's only ten."

((He has matured more rapidly than most ten year olds, Nora. He is his father's son, whether you want him to be or not.))

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Mewtwo's eyes narrowed sharply. ((You know exactly what that means. You're holding him back.))

Nora looked away, crossing her arms. "I'm sorry, Mewtwo, I just… I dunno."

((I'm eager to introduce myself,)) Mewtwo went on. ((I've watched the boy grow up from afar, and I'm proud of him, even though he doesn't know me. All I want is to be involved in his life, in the same way I'm involved in yours. Is that so much?))

Nora stared at the wall. Mewtwo looked away, staring at the window. A grueling silence followed, only making her reply more painful.

"I can't, Mewtwo, I can't. It's just too dangerous."

Mewtwo nodded to himself silently. ((Then, for the same reason… I must leave when you have no further use of me.))

"Mewtwo-"

((Call on me once you get our next mission.))

"… Yeah, alright. See you later."

With a blue flash, he was gone. She groaned, tossed herself back into bed, and just lay there, head spinning, wishing her son was just a little older… maybe then Mewtwo's request wouldn't be so terrible.


	14. Chapter 13

September 27th, 2014

* * *

Nathan woke up wondering why Houndoom wasn't dragging him down the stairs. The he remembered that it was Saturday, and let out a sigh.

He moved slowly out of bed, and crept across his room, not wanting to wake up his mother if she was still asleep. He pulled up on the door handle to keep the door from creaking. He stepped on the floor next to the wall down the stairs. On his way down, he heard hushed voices, one he knew well, one unfamiliar.

"Have you finally captured him, Nora? I saw you use the masterball, and-"

"Oh, no, that was just… a trial run. Didn't work. He's not mine."

"Not _yet _he isn't."

"Lance…"

Silent as a mouse Nathan tiptoed and listened, reaching the end of the stairs, then moving for the crack in the doorway to watch her, just a small glimpse into the kitchen. She was on the phone, talking to a man, only able to see his graying-pink hair on the screen.

"I don't plan on capturing him," Nora went on, "legendaries have that kind of power for a reason; Celebi protects her forest, Lugia and the titan birds have their balance… we don't know what could happen to the world if he's captured."

"Come on, Nora, there's nothing for him to balance out, he's not part of nature."

"Nothing for him to balance out?" Nora repeated scornfully. "What about his brother? He's the only one able to beat him."

"We could handle that," The man said, suddenly cross.

"No, you couldn't," Nora shot back, "not even if you tried."

Nathan blinked a few times, still rubbing sleep out of his eyes, trying to focus, but the confusing things they said made it difficult to understand. _What about legendaries? Who can beat who?_

"Come on, Nora, think about this. You're making progress," he said excitedly, "you're about to make the biggest catch of your life."

"Lance," she went on agitatedly, "you sound ridiculous. I'm sorry, I won't do it."

"You'd be a pokémon master, Nora."

Nora held her chin up pointedly, challenging him. "I'm already a pokémon master."

Nathan watched this closely at first, then headed back up the stairs. Something about the whole scene didn't feel right… maybe he was sleepwalking, and once he got back to bed he could really wake up.

"Nora, you know our goals. The best way I can see us bringing the rights and safety of pokémon into light is from you capturing-"

As he reached the top step, the floorboards screamed.

Nora gasped, then cleared her throat. "Nathan's up, I'd better go. I'll call you later, alright?" and without waiting for a response, she hung up the phone.

Nathan turned around once again, creaking the stairs at a normal pace, then pushing the door open, walking into the kitchen. "G'morning Mom."

Nora smiled that sickly-sweet smile. "Good morning, kiddo. Want some breakfast?"

"Were you talking to somebody, Mom?"

Nora's smile flickered. She ran her hand through her hair. "Yes… I was talking to Mr. Redwood. He says he wants to talk about your grades over the weekend."

Nathan didn't know what to say. For a long time, he thought his mother never lied to him about anything. Now she gets a suspicious phone call about catching some pokémon, and lies right in his face without hesitation.

"Something wrong, hun?"

Nathan blinked at her, then shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong. I'm just surprised Mr. Redwood called."

It felt strange to lie to his mother. She had lied to him, but lying felt unnecessary, dirty. His head started to spin, the jumbled events leaving him dazed.

"You know what? I think I need a few more minutes. I'm still really tired."

Nora's frown arrived with concern. "Did you have trouble sleeping?"

"Yeah… yeah, I did."

"A nightmare?"

"Sure. I mean, yeah."

Nora giggled, "Goodness, you are tired. Well, okay, I'll whip something up for you while you rest."

Nathan nodded, then turned back around all over again and went upstairs to his room. He stood by the door for a minute, reeling, until he felt balanced again. A strange blankness and clarity both refreshed his mind, but not in a comforting way. He started picking up all of his books, one by one, putting them where they belonged, too distracted to be distracted.

_What pokémon did that guy want her to catch? Who is that guy? Is he her boyfriend or something? No, he was way too old… well, that could be why she hasn't told me about him…_

_Catching a legendary… balancing stuff out… maybe it's Mewtwo. _

_No, that's not right… I mean, Mom doesn't just go around hanging out with Mewtwo all the time, I would have noticed by now. Well, maybe not. Plus, he could have erased my memories if I found out… no, Mom said she didn't let him do stuff like that. Well, that was just in her stories. _

_But her stories can't be real. If they were, she would have told me, and people like Mr. Redwood would know too. Or would they? I mean, she keeps saying that I should decide if they are real, but…_

_I should decide._

Nathan was finally distracted by a book, his diary. He sat down on the edge of his bed, and flipped through it, planning a new entry. _Dear Diary, _he mused, _my crazy mom likes older men._

The pages turned through his lifetime. He stopped when he was five:

"all the Kids are buging me so much. they say I dont have a dad because he doesn't love us. and mom only keeps me because she needs the child support munny. I asked if I cold writ a letter and mom said no. and we don't know where he is anyway. I hate everybody. and I want to run away."

Nathan shook his head. His mom didn't even get child support money. He flipped to age eight.

"I met this really cool girl named Alex. She is older than me and is a pokémon trainer. She has a shiny charmeleon. She says I should be a pokémon trainer soon, but Mom won't let me for a real long time, probably forever. I hate that, I want to do my own stuff. Everyone else is going away to train their pokémon. I should just leave, I know I could."

Once again, Nathan moved on, to just a few pages away from his tenth birthday.

"Suri said that the new pokémon expert could give me a pokémon today, so I went to his lab, all the way across Pallet. His name is Mr. Black, and he seems really nice. He said it was okay that I was almost ten, but when I didn't have a permission slip from Mom he said I would have to get one before I got a pokémon. I watched all the other kids gets cool pokémon, and one of them teased me, because I was never going to beat him if I was behind. I wanted to just steal a pokémon and run away. I wish I could. I want to get out of here and start training!"

_I want to run away._

_I should just leave._

_I want to start training._

_I should decide._

Nathan closed his journal, his decision made.


	15. Chapter 14

September 27th, 2014

* * *

_And they would wonder what the most powerful pokémon does in his spare time, wouldn't they? What would he do for leisure, for relaxation, for retirement?_

_And how many would guess it to be watching television all day?_

It wasn't Mewtwo's fault, really. He went out during nighttime, not the day. And television was very informative, after all, on the actions and troubles of humans. And with a place like the spring to live in, it was hard to get decent reception like today, what with the constant and unexpected storms…

But no matter what excuses Mewtwo made for himself, he just felt the whole thing was absurd. Still he waved his hand, changing the channel.

"_I'm reporting live in front of the Anti-Morph Task Force HQ, where hundreds of members have been brutally murdered just this morning. It is believed the attacker is still inside the building, but the police are unable to reach the area, the reason currently being investigated. For our own safety, we will be covering this story from outside. Beside me is a witness of the attack and member of the Anti-Morph organization, and human rights activist…"_

Another attack on Anti-Morph Headquarters. Whoopee. He shut his eyes, certain that he would be falling asleep before the TV. Again. Absurdly.

"_It's a massacre in there! One of those damn pokémorphs is at it again, I swear to god! Some shiny black-and-red abomination!"_

Mewtwo's eyes opened. He got out of his chair.

"_It's tearing everyone to pieces with it's hell spikes! This is the reason we formed this protest group in the first place, those things are savages, they're-"_

He shut off the television with a hand wave, and then waved again to move a brown cloak to himself, pulling the hood over his head. He teleported to Viridian, at the side of their building, able to see the newscasters and interviewee. He hid in the shadows of the building, further secured by the cloak's length from any eyes that fell on him.

_Please, don't let it be him… don't let it be him…_

He looked upward, and saw through a broken window a new place to teleport. In an instant he was in the building, striding over broken glass and between many corpses. The sight of the room wasn't reassuring- it looked like his brother's handiwork, bodies shredded and strewn about.

As he walked into a hall, a bloody-faced woman ran by him, screeching at the top of her lungs until her throat was grinded by the rushing air. He paused as she bumped into her, his eardrums throbbing long after her scream had died off in the distance. Then he continued, no longer walking, but floating through the doorways and rooms.

Then he heard the thoughts, thrown out for anyone to overhear;

((Never have I seen such ignorant slime. You think you can overpower me with that trinket, some pokéball made for caterpie? You have no idea what I am.))

Mewtwo came to the doorway of a room, with red-stained walls and organs spilled out to the floor, as if the humans had exploded. Only one was left, a shriveling thing in the corner, clutching his wounded arm, barely stammering out a plea for his own life.

((That's right, beg. Good boy. Because you think that will actually save you, don't you? Sniveling, begging like a dog- are you waiting for me to turn into one of those broken pieces of shit you call pokémon, who obey your every whim? Do you think _I _would let you _live? _Do you? Tell me, do you think _you_ should actually _live?_))

((Enough.))

The red-and-black abomination wheeled around. Drenched, in a nasty mix of sweat and blood, fluids that made Mewtwo's nose and stomach squirm. It wasn't this smell that made the man whimper in the corner. It wasn't even the narrow red eyes, the pointed barred teeth.

It was his infamous blood tail, legendary in its terror. Only when the clone's anger had reached a certain limit did the spikes appear. They grew from underneath the folds of his skin, long triangular spikes, and tore through his tail before tearing through his enemies.

Half the blood on his brother's body was his own.

The dark clone cocked his head to the side, grinning, as a cut on his eyebrow slowly faded back to clean skin. ((Good to see you, Brother,)) he said dryly, ((care to join me?))

((I'm here to stop you, Mewthree.))

The grin fell. ((That is not my name. _Never _call me that,)) he hissed, his spikes rising, creeping all the way up his back, small and thin on his spine.

((It is what you are,)) Mewtwo replied.

((What would you know about what we are? You're _dressed,_)) he spat, motioning to his cloak, ((you would be a human if you could, instead of what _you _are. Is it so bad that I embrace what I am?))

((You have embraced savagery. You are a disgrace to our kind.))

((Only half of our kind, actually. Now, if you will excuse me-))

((I will not excuse you.))

The clone glared at him, red eyes aglow. ((You would protect the life of this pathetic slime, one even you despise, when it means opposing me?))

Mewtwo raised his brow. ((Are you so surprised? I've done it before.))

With a nasty lion-like growl he launched himself at Mewtwo, pushing him up through the floors and roof of the building, all in seconds. Mewtwo yelled, his neck, head and tube numb from the attack.

The clone shoved his brother further, giving each of them distance as they floated above the building. ((You chose the wrong side. You have _always_ chosen the wrong side! You even have a human mate!))

((She is not my-)) he paused to dodge the blood tail, ((she is my friend, my closest _friend_. Do you know the meaning of that word?))

He lunged again. Mewtwo protected himself with a blue sphere shield, and his brother retaliated with his own red one, the shields buzzing and melding where they touched, purple.

((You are her slave,)) he said, ((nothing more. If she really cared about you, she wouldn't ask you to fight. She wouldn't ask you to choose between her family and ours. She only knows how to rule you, and that is all she wants.))

((You're wrong, you know nothing about her.))

((I know enough. I know she pushes you away. Why else would she do that, Mewtwo? Why doesn't _she_ fight, like the team rocket grunts? She is no better than Giovanni, brother. She would rather watch you die for her cause that die for it herself.))

((Shut up, shut _up!_))

Mewtwo's brother chuckled darkly; he fell back, his sphere subsiding. Still enraged, Mewtwo lunged after him, letting out his own lion roar.

They kicked and slashed, tore and snarled, growled and screamed at each other. They blasted energy, and used that same energy to defend themselves. They formed spheres and smashed them into each other repeatedly, until Mewtwo's sphere wasn't enough to hold him up, and he was flung into another building, brick digging into his shoulder. He shook himself off, looking down and quickly catching the debris that fell, before it hit the humans scurrying below. _Looks like I'll be in the newspapers again, _he thought, jumping off the wall and into his brother, using a blue blast to knock him backward, deep into the cement ground.

He lay on his back as Mewtwo pressed a foot on him, the clone's spikes only causing him pain; more of them grew with his anger, until there was little skin left on his tail. Even with his frighteningly fast recovery, he was sure to die, from the wounds, from the blood loss.

All that was needed was one last strike.

The realization was empowering beyond imagination; Mewtwo could end it now. He could save thousands of potential victims, he could save his own pride- he might as well be saving the entire world.

((You wouldn't, Brother…))

It was a sinister, snarling hiss in Mewtwo's mind, a thought-shattering echo. Instantly the realization vanished, just flew off carelessly, Mewtwo unable to look back and watch it go. He flexed his fingers as he looked upon his brother's livid face, and sighed.

And he raised his foot, stepping away. He shut his eyes, leaning back, nearly collapsing as he found exhaustion.

((This fight will never end, will it?))

The clone just snorted. Then his presence disappeared. When Mewtwo opened his eyes, his brother was gone.

_Brother… that one word… will I ever understand what it means?_

He stood there, shaken from the battle, and stared at the stain his brother had left on the ground. He then turned up to the sky, as the sun moved slowly across is, clouds gathering in front- another incoming storm to gray the sky.

_Who am I to judge what I am? What he is? What Nora is? I am no more informed than anyone else. I can only hope my beliefs are true. Going against them only leaves a dark shadow over my heart._

_But is a shadow on my heart any greater than the shadow of a family?_

It wasn't time for such thoughts; humans were warily approaching. He pushed these questions aside, and teleported away.


	16. Chapter 15

September 27th, 2014

* * *

"Mom, I'm going to the library."

"Packing lunch too?" Nora asked with a smile.

Nathan put the sandwiches into his backpack. "I'll be there for a while."

Lying felt unnecessary, and yet it was. He didn't double-check his pack until he was outside; a pocketknife, a sleeping bag, his sandwiches, his pokédex booklet, two empty pokéballs, and a bit fewer than 200 bucks. If he reached Viridian before nightfall, he could eat and sleep at the Pokémon Center- but he had no idea how far he would get, or how long it would take.

A droplet landed on his neck. He looked up to see gathering storm clouds graying the sky. "It's going to be a long day," Nathan sighed.

He jumped onto his bike and rode off. He knew he was missing many essentials, but his 200 bucks could eventually cover that. Besides, he had his mother's 'water', which would keep him in one piece if anything should happen.

_If Mom won't be honest with me, then I'll have to figure things out myself._

Rain fell, then poured as he rushed through the forest. The small dirt path had already darkened and mixed. He squeezed the wet handlebars as the front wheel sprinkled mud softly across his face.

_She says I'm too young, but she's wrong. I'm just as capable as any other trainer my age, more capable even. _

He rode faster down the snaky road, the mud and his heart both pounding. He didn't really know where he was going, but knew exactly what he was leaving.

_I'm running away_. _I'm running from home, from my problems._

_If I turn around now, could I still fix my problems? Could I wait long enough for the things I want? Could I face Mom again? She never listens to me, and she lies through her teeth. Not even my teachers or friends can help me anymore._

_And I don't need them to. I'll handle this, I'm handling it right now. Running away is the only way of fixing my problems, and I'll be stronger and better for it. _

His bike jerked as he rode over a rock. He straightened and went faster still, body cold, legs warm, face and knees numb and wet.

_I don't need Mom, money, or even pokémon- I can start this completely on my own. I know I can do this... I will do this, and Mom will regret not listening._

But as Nathan rode through the muddy path, the handlebars swerved left and right, as if on their own accord. He yelled, soon spinning his handlebars a full 90 degrees before he fell on his back, and then rolled to his side. He lay there, listening to the sound of his bike collapsing before him, taking note of the mud seeping into his clothes, and felt like never getting back up.

Suddenly the hairs on his neck stood up sharply. He could hear the sound of heavy, ragged breathing, like a wild pokémon. It was soft, barely audible, but the longer Nathan listened, the closer it seemed to come, 'till he felt the chilling breath on his neck.

Yet when he turned his head, no one was there. Nathan let out a long held gulp of air, visible in the cold. He gently picked himself up, trying to make little noise, his hands and knees shaking as he listened to the invisible creature.

He cautiously glanced around him from the corner of his eyes, and then made a double take towards the shadowed forest at his side; he saw two brilliant red eyes, aglow like lion eyes, staring back at him.

Nathan darted behind a tree, pressed his muddy back to it and shuddered, wondering what sort of creature he'd seen.

((There is no use hiding, human,)) a horrid voice growled.

Nathan jumped. _He's psychic_. _Oh man…_

"I'm not hiding from you."

This new voice came from the shadows, from where Nathan had seen the creature. He took a peek around the trunk of the tree, squinting with a cautious eye as he spied, trying to cope with the darkness.

He saw the eyes again, and the creature. He was sitting near the base of a tree, arms crossed protectively over the wounds on his chest. He was shaped just like Mewtwo, but bigger in height and build, frighteningly so. Some of the gashes on the creature's body had spikes protruding out of them- spikes that rose and fell with the creature's breath.

_Is that... a Mewclone? It's so... … creepy._

_Red tail... black fur... Mewthree?_

_No... my Mom's a crazy liar... she can't be right... he isn't real, he's just a fairytale..._

_..._

_...a big, scary fairytale._

A snap of a twig, and Nathan remembered the presence of another; A man was approaching the beast. He hadn't seen Nathan, not yet. He wore dark attire, too dark to see in the shadows, but his outlandishly light pink hair stood out clearly. Nathan recognized the man as the one his mother had spoken to. What was he doing here?

((Lance,)) the creature acknowledged, red eyes glaring, more spikes rising. ((What do you want with me? Are you so low as to bother a pokémon tending to his wounds?))

"Unlike you, no; I just came by to see who won this round."

((Neither, obviously,)) the creature snapped.

"Well, for future reference, the next time you attack our most prized member, don't think we won't take his side. No one wants either of you to die, but if we have to choose..."

((Yes, I know. You wouldn't want your possession damaged.))

"No one owns Mewtwo, no one has even trained him."

((She has. She's manipulated him, has him around her finger, just as you have her. I'm not concerned with whatever you decide to do, Lance- aside from the way you use my brother as a weapon.))

"Mewtwo fights for us willingly, to protect people from Team Rocket."

((It's still no better than when either of us worked _for_ Team Rocket.))

"And you'd prefer him dead?"

((I prefer him beneath me, as a slave should be.))

There was silence. A cold wind blew, making Nathan's knees rattle.

Lance turned away, and then walked off towards Viridian. "I'm going to help clean your mess. Remember my warning."

((Only if you heed to mine,)) The creature snapped back, flailing his tail about.

Nathan ducked behind the tree again; he waited for the creature to take the man out with his snake of a tail, for a scream and a sickening thud, like in the horror movies.

But nothing happened; only a light crash as the beast limply lay his tail to rest, and another twig cracking beneath the man's feet.

Nathan let out another, long held breath. He became aware of his hands on his head and nails in his scalp, his knees bent. He straightened, let his arms fall at his sides, and then looked back around. The man was gone, but the creature was still there.

Nathan looked him over again. He realized that this pokémon might be the only one of his kind, even when you considered Mewtwo. He didn't know what insanity was taking over, but Nathan found himself just as curious about this creature as he'd been curious about the Johto legendaries. He wanted to know why he fought Mewtwo, why he let Lance walk away unscathed… he wanted to know everything his lying mother hadn't already told him.

((Why haven't you started running?)) The creature asked.

Nathan shivered, a hand grasping the tree trunk momentarily for support. He then timidly walked out from behind the tree, struggling to stay calm. "Umm... I..." he exhaled deeply.

((Don't you fear me?)) He pressed, red eyes narrower, tail lifting up again, waving lightly in the air.

"Of course I do," Nathan said quickly. He gulped down hard, and went on. "But, well..."

((I am the most powerful being this world has ever seen,)) he reminded Nathan, tail still waving dangerously. ((Stronger even than my brother.))

"I know," Nathan went on, "but you haven't attacked me yet."

There was a pause. The red eyes grew narrower still, but now with humor. He chuckled, and laid his weapon to rest.

((No,)) he replied, ((I suppose I haven't... why, I wonder?)) he tilted his head back. ((You have overheard an important conversation... I should kill you.))

Nathan shuddered, yet refused to move, voluntarily. "I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."

((Why should I trust a human like you?)) The pokémon replied darkly.

"Because, erm... well, no one else would believe me anyway. Not a lot of people even believe in Mewclones, besides my Mom."

The pokémon huffed. ((Mewclone. You actually know the name of our species... and you make a good argument.))

Nathan felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He took off his backpack. "Your wounds are really bad," he said.

((What of them?)) The clone asked.

He pulled out a vial of water from his pack, and held it out towards the mewclone. "This will help," he advised. "If you drink it or pour it on your wounds, then you'll- Ah!"

Nathan jumped back as the tail suddenly writhed up off the ground, and in a flash of red, the glass vial was shattered in Nathan's hands.

((I do not need your help, human,)) the clone's voice spat. ((I don't need any help.))

Nathan took a moment to respond; the clone's sudden attack made him forget how to breathe. "I... I wasn't saying you needed it," he said, as he dropped the last few glass shards.

((Then why give me something I don't need?))

"Because... I want you to..." Nathan's voice fell. "I don't know, I just want you to get better. It'd make me feel better, I guess."

((Well, it's not my job to listen to your instructions and make you feel better, is it?)) the clone asked this mockingly, his arms uncrossed and brow raised. ((You seem far too urgent to heal me- how do I know you're not poisoning me?))

Nathan took out another vial from his pack, holding it out bravely. "I'd drink some, but that'd just insult you, wouldn't it?"

((Demonstrations are for mentally hindered pokémon,)) he agreed.

"You can't argue that you don't want to feel better, can you?"

The clone stared at him for a moment. Nathan couldn't see the clone's mouth in the darkness, but he could have sworn he saw a smirk.

A red glow surrounded the vial. Nathan smirked back, and let the vial go, watching the creature use his psychic powers to take out the vial's cork and pour the water over his tail. The clone hissed, but then sighed, leaning back into the tree with more of an ease in his stance.

((What is your name, boy?))

"Nathan," he replied earnestly, "My name's Nathan... but you're not really called Mewthree, right?"

The clone shook his head. ((Unlike my brother, I do not take a name given to me by humans... call me Blade.)) His spikeless tail waved in the air again, but with a relaxed tone. ((You're not bad, for a sniveling, puny human.))

Nathan grew relaxed as well. "You're not bad either, for a mutant freakazoid."

There was a glare, and a quick recovery of, "Which I mean in the best possible way."


	17. Chapter 16

Blade recovered much faster than Nathan expected, even with the water. _Then again,_ he thought,_ that would have to happen when your attack hurts you so much_.

And he also thought, _why's he floating towards Pallet?_

And having forgotten he was running away, Nathan grabbed his bike and followed.

"Why are you and Mewtwo fighting so much when you don't want to kill each other?"

((That is not of your concern.))

"Does that mean you won't tell me?"

((What did you say your name was again?))

"Nathan, Nathan Davis Penkin."

Blade smirked, a grin that seemed to be gloating. The clone shook his head.

((A coincidence,)) he said.

"What is?" Nathan pressed.

((I can't say,)) Blade said, ((or really I shouldn't. You'll find out soon enough.))

"Oh…" Nathan searched for another topic. "Do you come to this forest often?"

((Not really.))

"What about the towns?"

((Never, unless I must. Or if I'm hopelessly bored.))

"Do you get bored a lot?"

((Yes, life is pitifully boring.))

"Yeah, I know what you mean there. Does that mean you'll come back to the forest?"

Blade laughed. ((If you're looking to meet me again, little boy, then you're going to end up dead in a ditch.))

"Or just way in over my head," Nathan said with a chuckle.

((Same thing,)) Blade muttered. _Poor boy won't last a minute in his mother's world…_

Another evasive silence followed, but since he was walking beside a legend, Nathan didn't mind at all.

* * *

She had managed to stop the wound from bleeding as much, but that didn't make looking at it any less disgusting. She pulled back the torn skin to find rubble embedded into his shoulder, black dirt and gray brick mixed with reddened skin and white fur.

"Eww," Nora commented, "that's gross. Not as bad as last time, though."

((He is getting stronger,)) Mewtwo said, as if she hadn't said a word.

Mewtwo sat hunched on the edge of Nora's bed. She sat on her knees behind him, facing his back, her first-aid kit at her side. The majority of this kit was bottled spring water, but using water now would still leave rubble stuck in him.

Nora clicked her tweezers together before targeting a piece, trying to pull it out.

Mewtwo snarled, wrenching his shoulder away. ((Careful, that stings!))

"Don't be such a baby," Nora chided.

((I am not a coward, you are causing me unnecessary pain.))

"I bet Nurse Joy never gets such whiny patients. Now hold still," she said, gripping his other shoulder.

((Do we really have to do this?)) Mewtwo complained, ((It isn't a bullet wound, I won't die of lead poisoning.))

"Sit _still, _Mewtwo. Gosh, you should know better than to fuss like this."

Mewtwo rolled his eyes. He looked down, watching his tail sway over the wood floor.

((Since they mistook him for a pokémorph, he has only given their kind a bad name, and spread more ignorance and hate on the matter.))

"Well, I'm sort of glad that he was trying to be sort of nice… kinda… well, maybe Blade attacked them because that's all he knows, you know?"

((No, I don't. Elaborate for me.))

"He joined Team Rocket for power, he trained and killed for power, all so he could have some control in his life. Maybe his only response to someone else exerting power is to exert his own power."

((I doubt Blade was really hoping for a positive result, for helping others. It was just another excuse to kill.))

Nora sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Mewtwo shut his eyes. He wanted to believe that his brother had good intentions. He wanted his brother to be confused and ignorant, like the humans who opposed the civil rights of pokémorphs. But Blade didn't kill with good intentions; he killed purely out of pleasure. Mewtwo could tell from the twisted grin on his brother's face and eyes. Blade took lives selfishly, and if he couldn't see how that was wrong, then nothing could be done to save him.

Mewtwo winced, then growled. ((Damn! Stop jabbing at my nerves, woman!))

"You'll start jabbing my nerves if you don't calm down… that's the last of it anyway." She handed him a water bottle, dangling it into his face. "Use your hands- no powers for at least a half hour."

Mewtwo wrenched the bottle away, unscrewing the cap. ((Should I stop talking as well, or just crack a joke at your motherly affection?))

"Both of those are optional," she said, shuffling off the bed.

He chuckled, taking a sip. He took a quick glance towards the clouded window, tail waving. ((Nathan has arrived. Where do I go, another cupboard?))

"No, just hang out here. And rest a while, lie down, take a cat nap; you don't recover at the insane speed Blade does."

((No, I guess not… I'll send you a thought before I leave. Goodnight,)) he said, looking at the bed and wondering how he'd make himself comfortable in it.

Nora headed for the door, opening it, then stopped, turning to look at Mewtwo. "Hey, umm… do you still want to meet Nathan?"

Mewtwo's head jerked up. ((Of course.))

"Well, um, we'll see how it goes, but…" she paused, then smiled. "Maybe soon, okay?"

Both indefinite words, without a time, place or meaning. They were the most Mewtwo had ever heard her say. _Maybe soon. _

Mewtwo smiled back, spirits lifted. ((Alright, maybe soon.))

She nodded, then shut the door behind her.

* * *

As soon as he'd reached the outskirts of the town, Blade had disappeared. Nathan wasn't surprised, but a bit bummed; he felt like running away now more than ever, but at the same time, Blade had said he might come back to the forest nearby. So Nathan would go back to the forest nearby, and to do that, he had to stay home.

He had just reached the back door when his mother opened it for him, poking her head out. "Hey, kiddo, how would you like an early Christmas present?"

Nathan blinked pointedly, not knowing what to make of this. "Sure, what is it?"

Nora put her fingers to her lips, opening the door slowly. Nathan followed her into the kitchen, apprehensive of what this Christmas present was. First he saw Houndoom lying on his side under the table. Then he saw Houndoom trotting up beside the table next to Houndoom, and became greatly confused.

Then he saw the puppies. Black fur, orange underbellies, stumbling legs and soft, squeaking yips came towards Nathan, who didn't realize he was rushing through the kitchen until he was kneeling by their mother's side. They sniffed him, peered at him, licked him, sniffed him again and yipped.

"The litter will be weaned in another week or so, and the mother here plans to head back to the Johto region afterwards. But," and there was much emphasis on this but, "the both of them want you to keep one as your own. This way Houndoom gets to have one of his pups around, the mom has less to worry about, and you can get a good starter pokémon."

Nathan looked up at her. "Do I really get to keep one, Mom?"

Nora sat down beside him as he petted one of the excited pups. "This doesn't change everything, honey, I want you to understand that. You can go into the forest nearby, train your pokémon and catch a few more too, but only if you put school first and stay near Pallet. I…" she smiled. "I realize how important this is to you, and I don't want to hold you back. So, can we call it even?"

And Nathan would have missed it all if he had run away. He threw himself onto Nora for a hug. "Thank you, Mom, thank you so much! This is the best present."

He immediately looked at the puppies and asked, "Which one is the runt?"

"Sorry, no runts in this litter."

"Darn it, you mean I have to _choose_?"

Nora laughed, and felt strange as she said, "Sometimes they gotta choose you, hun."

As she said it, her wisdom was proven. The puppies were giving Nathan one last sniff and few licks, before hungrily waddling back to their watchful mother. With one exception.

This exception was jumping on Nathan's hand, batting it with his paws and chewing lightly, not scratching so much as slobbering.

"I think he likes me," Nathan commented.

Houndoom crouched to smell the jumpy puppy, and then looked at the mother, who gave a curt nod.

Nathan carefully scooped up the puppy and looked at him. The puppy stuck out his tongue as he panted, tail wagging happily. Nathan laughed, putting the puppy in his lap and petting him.

"Someday, I'll train you to be smart and strong, just like your dad."

_He'll be the strongest pokémon ever, _Nathan thought.

_Well, second to Blade._


	18. Chapter 17

November 5th, 2014

* * *

He was excited. Oh, he was excited. He sat by the back door, tail wagging joyously, glancing over his shoulder at Nathan.

[Hurry, hurry!] he yipped.

Nathan laughed from the living room. "I'm coming Doom, I'm coming, just give me a second."

Doom grinned. He liked being called Doom, even though he was still a Houndour. It meant that his master wanted him to evolve, to be big and strong. He wanted to become a strong houndoom. And he wouldn't be doing that by just sitting here.

[Hurry, Master, hurry!] he yipped again.

There was a soft growl from beside him, and the pup looked to see his father's scarred face in a snarl. [What have I told you about that name, Doom? Nathan is not your master. Never call him that.]

Doom hung his head in shame. He couldn't help it; calling Nathan 'Master' was as natural as calling his dad 'Father'.

[Don't be so hard on the kid,] bellowed the blastoise, sitting in a corner and dropping bacon into his mouth. [He's just excited is all.]

Nathan came into the kitchen, pack slung over his shoulder, water vials and pokéballs jingling together. Doom stood at attention, as he'd been taught to, but got distracted by Nathan's tightly laced sneakers. The laces had been double-knotted, and Doom found himself playing with the laces, batting them with his paw.

[Stop that, you look like a cat,] his father scolded.

Nathan just laughed again, scratching Doom behind the ears, at the exact spot that made his back leg pound against the floor.

"Mom, I'm going to the forest."

"Did you finish your homework?"

"Yes, and I studied for the test tomorrow."

"You have a test tomorrow?"

"Yeah, a math test. I'll do great on it."

"Oh… okay then, be careful."

Houndoom brushed his muzzle against his son's. [Take care of each other, and watch each other's backs. Don't let your guard down for anyone, got that?]

[I know Father, I'll remember,] Doom said happily, before trotting off after his Master- no, no his uh, his… his Nathan.

~*~

They were off, Nathan riding his bike, Doom riding in the bicycle basket. Nora watched them leave, then glanced at the ringing phone.

"Dammit, it better not be Lance again…"

A hand on the phone, a fuzz on the screen, and there he was.

"Dammit, Lance!"

"Sorry, Nor, had to call."

Nora slammed the phone on the countertop, making Tackle jump in surprise as she stormed to her bag at the hat rack. She tore out her cell phone, then a walkie talkie in the same hand, nearly dropping them as she waved them in his fuzzy face. "What the hell do you think I have these for, Lance? Nathan barely left the house a second ago, I could have had friends over, for all you know I throw big parties on my time off-"

"Yeah, well, you don't, so stop complaining. Besides, Team Rocket has just hacked off three of our top agents, all people who had a strict record of using our walkie-talkies."

Nora dropped the phones, leaning in for a big talk. "Are you saying that's the reason why they were caught?"

"Absolutely. Team Rocket is everywhere these days. They're listening in on all broadcasted airwaves, Nora. Walkie talkies and cell phones send out messages that can be fished out of the air. The phone lines, though, they need to be tapped into- and from what we can tell, no one knows which line is your line."

"If they did, I'd already be dead," she agreed.

"Anyway, that's another issue, another mission for other agents. Yours is in Viridian, again. We've got reports coming in from our intel, saying that the rockets are constructing a new base, deep in the Viridian Forest."

"A new base? Why would they need one there? They already have the Viridian Gym."

"Yeah, but they know that _we_ know they have the gym. We've got eyes on them twenty-four seven, but so far we haven't turned up any hard evidence against little Gio and his gym. If they tried anything from there, then Team Rocket's oldest cover would be blown, and they know it. That's why they need a new base.

"I'm worried, Nora. Viridian is still a vulnerable spot, and Team Rocket's not going to start any light activity there. Gio is up to something, something big, big enough for two bases. We need to cut their plans short, stop them before they can start."

Nora smirked. "You saying we need a raid?"

"No one's better at it than you and Mewtwo; I bet he does it on his free time. Besides, the base hasn't even been fully built; taking it down should be a cakewalk. That's not even the focus of your mission, Nora. The most important thing for you to do is to figure out why they need the base in the first place. If we know what they're up to, we can stop them from causing chaos, save lives even."

"Consider it done, Lance."

The man winked.

Nora hung up, then reached for her pokéballs to return her team. _God knows I hate these covert operations, they're too close to home, just one town over… It's raiding time._

She reached for her crystal, then stopped. Mewtwo's words came to her, as they often did.

_I must leave when you have no further use of me. Call on me once you get our next mission._

_Really, Mewtwo? Is that all our relationship is to you? We're just co-workers, who go on separate ways when we're done? Why are you still protecting yourself from me, after all we've been through? Why can't you trust me?_

_It's not like I don't want you more involved in my life. I'm not just friends with you because you can help me fight Team Rocket. _

_In fact, _she thought darkly, _I bet we could pull off this mission without your help. It's not that hard anyway. Then you'll see that I don't 'use' you. I'm not your master, and you're not mine either._

"Alright guys," she hollered, "let's get ready- it's raiding time."


	19. Chapter 18

This isn't a new chapter. Someone suggested I divide the prologue from the first chapter, so things got moved around. If you thought this was a new chapter, or if this has caused you any inconvenience, I apologize.

* * *

Nathan didn't talk much, and that bothered Doom. His dad said it was because Nathan had trouble with pokétalk. Doom didn't understand that, since he had been born knowing pokétalk and understanding human talk- it was just as natural as breathing. Humans were so different, and he found that funny.

Then Nathan started talking. "Hey, Doom, are you okay with this?"

"Arf?" Doom asked, or really, [Huuh?]

"Well, I was just thinking… I want us to win pokémon battles together… but I never really asked what you thought, did I? Do you even like battles?"

Doom smiled, tongue hanging. [I think it's fun, and I want to get better at it.]

"Have you thought about doing something else, like the Pokémon Contests?"

Doom's muzzle shriveled at the thought. [Ew!]

Nathan smirked. "Yeah, guess not… But what do you like to do?"

[Well, I really like battles. Father plays with me all the time, and so does Tackle and Speed, and it's always fun to play, but I'm not very strong yet. I also like sniffing people out, you know, tracking and stuff. This one time, I smelled some pancakes, and I knew you and Tackle liked pancakes, so I followed the scent and-]

Nathan stared at the pokémon blankly.

Doom stared back, panting from his too-long rant.

"I wish I knew pokétalk," Nathan said.

[I wish you knew it too,] Doom agreed.

They rode on for a time, and then Nathan parked his bike next to a tree, wrapping a bike-lock around the base of the tree and the bike. Nathan said it was just incase someone tried to steal it, but Doom didn't see why anyone would. It had a nice basket, but the rest of it was bent up and funny looking. He didn't lock-up the basket either, so the whole thing seemed silly.

There were so many trees, shrouding them in shadow. Nathan commented on them, and then started talking on and on about the forest. Doom lost interest, his master's voice becoming background noise. Then Nathan said the word-

"Fire, a huge one. Mom said it burned everything, the grassy plains, all the trees, everything. Professor Oak organized a rescue mission for the wild pokémon, trying to save them before they got all killed… that was how he died. He ran into the fire and never came back out." Nathan smiled grimly. "But it wasn't all bad. The forest grew back, and the pokémon that were rescued moved back in. Now there's more trees and pokémon than ever before. Professor Black says that in a few years, the forest might get as big as the one in Virid-"

He stopped. And stared. Doom stared with him.

They stared at a girl, standing several feet before of them. She was looking up into the trees, her long bangs blowing softy into the smile on her face. The girl had black hair that stretched down to her knees, tugged back by a purple ribbon. She had violet eyes- an actual violet, which didn't seem real. Her skirt was a faded shade of blue, her blouse looking cleaner than clothes could be.

Nathan stared at her for a long time, in a strange, sad way. He looked down at Doom, and said in all seriousness, "Look cute," before trudging through the bushes.

The girl turned around, then said shrilly, "Oh, hi there! Nathaniel, right?"

"Umm, no, it's Nathan," he said awkwardly.

She nodded, "Right, sorry… my name is-"

"Arimi Koishikawa," he said.

Doom jumped up excitedly, letting out a simple "arf!" as he looked between the two; Doom was glad his master liked this girl, because he liked the girl too, though not as much as Nathan would.

When Arimi looked down at him, Doom remembered to look cute, and stuck out his tongue to pant, looking ready to pounce.

"Aww, that's adorable!" she exclaimed, hands on her knees as she crouched down. "Is he yours, Nathan?"

"Yeah, my mom's early Christmas present. His name's Doom. Wanna pet him?"

As she stroked the pup's fur and scratched behind his ears- oooh, right there!- she asked, "So you finally got your license?"

"Yeah, but I'm not leaving home just yet. Mom wants me to stay in school. I'm guessing from your uniform that you're in school too."

"That's right. I'm actually going to the Pokémon Academy in Viridian, getting some studying done so I can be a Pokémon Researcher when I'm done training."

"O-oh… that sounds great."

"It's a really boring school, actually. They teach you the most useless stuff these days. I'm glad I got this week off," she added, finishing her pet-fest and standing back up, to Doom's disappointment.

"What do they teach?"

"Well, math, but that doesn't really apply to anything… and I have the _worst _chemistry teacher," she groaned, "he probably knows less about chemistry than I do, and that's saying something. It's like everything he explains doesn't make sense, and when I ask for help, he says to read the textbook, which is even worse. I don't think he knows what he's talking about."

"Yeah, some of those thick textbooks are hard to understand. I try to look for textbooks that are more clear and recent, so I don't wind up confused. It sucks that your teach wouldn't clarify with you, that doesn't seem-"

"You're taking chemistry already? What grade are you in?"

"Ah… a-actually, it's not for school."

"Oh… right."

There was a flittering sound of wings, and Arimi motioned for silence, a finger at her lips. They watched a pidgey land lightly a few feet away, separated by a couple bushes. Arimi stepped over twigs and leaves as she approached it from behind, pokéball at the ready.

"Arimi, wait, no!"

Nathan's outburst startled the pidgey, and it flew off in a huff.

"Hey!" Arimi yelled, before turning to glare at Nathan. "Geeze, you're not going to be a good trainer if you scare the pokémon off."

Nathan shook his head at her. "Follow me," he said, running off after the pidgey.

[Yeah, follow us!] Doom yipped, darting up to Nathan's heels, then checking behind him for Arimi. When she crossed her arms grumpily and followed, Doom ran up ahead of Nathan, knowing where they would be going.

They ran to one of their usual spying spots, underneath a bushy tree branch. From there Nathan pointed up, one of the large, thick branch holding up a nest. The pidgey landed by the nest, and then fed her chicks with the food she'd hunted down. The chicks were obviously very young, and very dependent on their mother.

Arimi stared, open mouthed. "Ah… umm… oh."

Nathan nodded up to the pidgey. "I've been watching that pidgey for a while. She's about level ten, but she's too old to start training now. Besides, she has other obligations. I'm waiting for her chicks to leave the nest, so I can capture one of them before they start any families. Plus, younger pokémon are easier to train, and they level up stronger."

"Ah… umm… wow. I never gave so much thought to the pokémon I captured."

Nathan shrugged. "I know, I'm weird for going through so much trouble. I just like being sure that what I'm doing is right, you know? I get it from my mom. She never really caught any of her pokémon, she rescued injured ones or had pokémon join her on their own. But that's why she only has six," he said, laughing lightly, "and I want a lot more pokémon than that."

"You know something, Nathan? You've been smart since we were little. Every time I see you, you're even smarter than before."

Her warm smile made Nathan melt. His face went red, and Doom yipped in approval. "Th-thanks," he rambled, "they say I get it from my dad."

Arimi's face fell. "Do you even know your dad?"

Nathan shrugged, scratching at his neck nervously. "Mom says he doesn't even send support money, and that she doesn't know where he is, or care… but I'm not sure that's true."

_Not sure that's true? _Doom thought, _But if Nora says so, why doubt it?_

Arimi nodded, then shrugged as well. "Well hey, I hardly know my own dad myself. Well, at least, I hardly understand him."

"Arimi, no one understands _your_ dad."

They both laughed at that. It was a long, hard, unnecessarily big laugh. Nathan's uneasiness disappeared, when he remembered that each encounter was just like this, that it took time for her to remember him back.

_And if that's true,_ he thought, _maybe it'll just take time for her to like me back._

* * *

Yays, Ed is semi-back-ish-kinda! *****Has no idea when the next chapter will be posted*****

Anywhozel, I'm thinking about doing some serious remodeling on Renegade Pokémon, especially now that I'm in the review exchange and I'm getting feedback. I have a poll on my profile that asks what chapters I should get rid of. If you feel like any of my chapters are unnecessary, let me know in the poll.


End file.
